Unexpected Encounters
by Sylvia Summers
Summary: Kaname x OC
1. Prelude

**Special - Prelude**

"Wait, what?" Nicky shouts, standing up quickly and knocking her chair over. She stares at her mother and stepfather, a horrified expression on her face. Her mother Kathy looks down with a slightly ashamed look on her face. Her stepfather Jason just sighs, wiping off his mouth and looking up at the very angry teenager.

"It is a very exclusive school Nicky, with high credentials. With a diploma from that school, you'll be able to get into the College of your choice," Jason tries explaining, but the words 'all girl boarding school' were ringing so loudly in the girl's head, she could barely hear the words. Nicky shakes her head, looking over at her mother who was silently picking at her breakfast. "Nicky, you need to think about your future," Jason says folding his hands in front of him. "And this school will ensure you have a good future."

Nicky glares over at the man, "I knew it!" she accuses pointing a finger at him, "All that crap about wanting to be a family was just a cover so you could get close to my mom! I knew from the very beginning you were going to try and get rid of me as soon as you were able to marry my mom!"

"Niccole Julianne that is enough!" Kathy stands up, "Your father is just trying to give you the best future he can!"

"HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" Nicky screams back at her mother before running out of the dining room, tears streaming down her face.

Jason sighs, looking over at Kathy who silently sits back down. Jason takes her hand, and Kathy looks over at him, giving a sad smile. "She hates me, doesn't she?" Jason quietly asks.

Kathy shakes her head, "No, she just misses her dad still, that's all. I'm sure once we give her a little time, she'll be alright." Kathy takes Nicky and her plates, standing and walking into the kitchen, Jason quietly follows with his own. "She just needs to get used to the idea, that's all. When she gets older, she'll appreciate all of this." Jason silently nods as the two wash the dishes.

While upstairs Nicky is thrown across her bed, crying and clutching a framed picture of her father. It has already been three years since the accident, but it felt like just yesterday that they had buried the man. Nicky was very close to her father and she despised Jason for trying to take his place, even though her mother didn't think he was, but if he wasn't, then why did he try to throw out all of the pictures of Nicky's father? No, Nicky had never trusted Jason.

Nicky sniffles a bit as she rolls onto her side, looking at the picture of her and her father. It was taken the weekend before her father died and was the most recent photo they had of him. Nicky hugs the picture, and looks over when her mom knocks on the door, opening it slowly. "Hey," Kathy smiles at Nicky, "can I come in?"

Nicky looks back at her picture, he back to the door, "Do whatever you want. You will anyway."

Kathy sighs, walking into the room and over to the bed. She sits down, putting a hand on Nicky's back, "Honey?" Nicky moves away from Kathy, "Sweetie, I know you're angry right now, but one day you _will_ thank us for this." When Nicky stays quiet, Kathy continues, "And you never know, you might really like it at this school. It'll be just like going away to college. You'll get to sleep in a dorm, be independent and you won't have to deal with your parents looking over your shoulder. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Nicky sits up and looks over at her mom, "You can paint this any way you want, but the truth is you and Jason just want to get rid of me!" She stands and goes into her bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her.

"Sweetie!" Kathy walks over and knocks on the door, "Baby come on out, we need to talk about this." Nicky slides down, sitting on the floor of the bathroom in front of the door. She clutches the picture of her father, silently crying again. Kathy sighs and pulls Nicky's desk chair over to the bathroom door, sitting. "Nicky, I know it seems like everything is suddenly changing. Your father passing away three years ago, me getting remarried, us moving… and now this." Kathy sighs.

Kathy leans her ear against the door and hears Nicky crying on the other side. "Nicky… This is a good school and you going really is for the best. You'll like it there, I promise." Nicky silently listens to her mother talking, "We'll still be able to stay in touch. We can talk on the phone every weekend and write each other letters. Your fa… I mean, Jason and I will send you money every week. You'll be able to buy things and go shopping with your friends…" Kathy grows quiet again, "I'll even buy you that really pretty nightgown and robe set you've been hinting about." Nicky rolls her eyes. _So, she's even going to bribe me? I don't care. It doesn't matter what she says. I'm not going!_


	2. New Arrival

**Chapter 1 – New Arrival**

Nicky stares out the window of the sleek black car as it comes to a stop. She looks ahead of her. Her blue eyes following the high brick walls to a large sign, the words "Isis Boarding School for Girls" painted in thick black letters. "Isn't that a bit extreme?" Nicky asks, motioning to the large and very ornate gate barring the entrance to the school. She looks over at the woman behind the wheel of the car. Her name was Heather and she was the headmistress's secretary.

Heather jumps looking over at Nicky. It was the first time she spoke during the hour long drive from the airport to the school. It was miles out in the middle of a large patch of woods. "Uh…" she pushes her large box style glasses up her nose, "Well, it was necessary back when the school was built. You see, this school is over two hundred years old and-"

"Uh, you don't have to go into detail," Nicky interrupts. She really didn't was a history lesson on the school she really didn't want to be at. Heather nods as the heavy gates slowly open. As they drive in Nicky looks around at the large, old stone school house that looked more like a small castle and the much newer looking dorms. She could see the student dormitory from the front gate with the teacher's dormitory back behind that.

Nicky sighs as they pull up in front of the dorms, hopping out and walking around to the trunk of the car, her long blond hair swaying in the slight breeze. Heather gets out as well and the two load Nicky's trunk onto a trolley then head inside. "The other girls are in the mess hall right now, having lunch," Heather says, trying to make conversation. Nicky just nods quietly as they use the elevator to head up to the third floor.

Nicky looks around as they walk past some of the other girl's rooms, noticing that on a lot of the doors there were two name plates, saying who was staying in which room. "Here we are," Heath says, stopping in front of a door with the name Christine on one side and Niccole on the other, "You'll be sharing a room with Christine Roberts. Headmistress Richards has already asked her to show you around your first few days. If you have any questions feel free to ask her."

Nicky gives a small, fake smile, "Okay." _Great, she's already talked to my roommate. That's exactly what I need._ The two walk into the room and Nicky looks around. The room was medium sized with two beds, two desks, two small night stands, two armoires and even two doors in one of the side walls, one had Christine on it while the other had Niccole. The room was set up so as you walk into the room the beds were up against the right wall with the nightstands in between them with the desks against the left wall and the armoires on the outside of the beds.

There was already a trunk at the foot of one of the beds, so Nicky and Heather unload her trunk at the foot of the free bed. Heather gives a smile, "Alright then, since obviously the other bed is taken, this will be yours, your armoire, desk, and through that door is your bathroom." Heather motions to each object and the door. "You'll need to come with me to get your bedding and towels."

"Alright," Nicky nods, "But the handbook said I could bring my own towel and wash cloth, so I did. Actually, I brought a loofa."

"Oh, alright, but if you use your own towels you'll have to wash them." Heather says, leading Nicky out of the room. "Of course you'll have to wash your bedding as well. You get two sets to use and we provide detergent so you can clean your own clothes." Nicky nods, she made sure to read about that. She looked through the student handbook during the flight over. She takes the two sets of sheets, pillow cases and large comforter all a deep burgundy color with the school's coat of arms printed on them.

Heather carries the pillows as they head back to the bedroom. "During school days students wake promptly at 6am. You will be expected to shower, dress and make your bed. Breakfast is served at 7:30 and class begins at 8:00." Heather stands to the side as Nicky puts the first set of sheets on the bed. "You will be in your morning classes until noon when you will be dismissed for lunch, and then afternoon classes begin at 1. Afternoon classes go until 4:00, after which there are club activities. During this time you will be left to your own devices until dinner, which is served from 6:00 until 7:00. From 7:00 until 8:00 the gym will be open to anyone who wants to work out. There is an indoor swimming pool as well as an indoor track. We also offer yoga and dance lessons during this time as well as sports. At 8:00 all students are to return to their dorm for the evening.

"During weekends you don't have to wake up until 7:30, 8:00. You will still be expected to make your bed, dress and shower. Breakfast is served at 9:00. Lunch and dinner are still served at the regular hours. On weekends you are permitted to do as you please. At 10:00 a shuttle will arrive to transport those who would like to go into town, but it will not return until 7:00 in the evening. If you want to go into town you can use this to buy lunch and dinner at one of the participating diners," Heather reaches into a bag she had brought with her, pulling out a packet and showing Nicky what looks like a credit card, "There is a list of diners in the information packet."

Nicky takes the card and packet. She didn't read about that in the handbook. "The card has your student identification number on it, so don't let anyone else use it. It's used almost like bank card. When you get your lunches here at school the lunch workers will scan this card. You will also have to scan it when you go to do your laundry and when you purchase detergent." Nicky nods and Heather ads, "Again, if you have any questions just ask Christine."

Heather gives a smile then ads in, "Oh, I almost forgot, someone will be by later to drop off your uniforms. Also, do you know about the bells?" Nicky nods. It was kind of like normal school. There was a bell to let people know when to switch classes and a different bell to signal meals. "Good. If Christine doesn't come back right away you can wait here until dinner then come to the dining hall. You'll be introduced to your class mates then."

Heather moves over to the door, waves once then exits the room and leaving Nicky alone. Nicky waits a bit then groans loudly, falling back on her bed. _Great, so I'm going to have to stand up in front of everyone and introduce myself? Just shoot me now!_ You see, Nicky was horribly shy and standing up in front of a bunch of girls she didn't know was going to be torture. Nicky sighs and sits up, looking through the packet. The only good thing about this school that she could see was the queen sized bed and free meals. But, when you consider how much tuition was, the least they could do was give them free meals.

At around 1:45 there is a knock on the door. Nicky looks over and calls, "Come in." A young looking woman, probably early twenties, walks into the room with a box in her hands. She gives a warm smile, "Hello there Miss Niccole. I'm Dolly, the school's seamstress. I brought your uniforms." She holds up the box, bringing it over. "These are both your summer uniforms and your winter uniforms." Dolly places the box on the bed next to Nicky. "If anything doesn't fit right, you can bring it to me in the main hall."

"Alright," Nicky gives the kind looking woman a smile. Dolly nods and leaves. Nicky looks over at the box, then goes back to reading. Nicky finishes reading the extra material around 2:30. She stands and stretches; her back was a little sore from leaning over for almost two hours. She turns to the box, opening it and pulling out the clothes. There was a weeks' worth of short sleeved shirts, skirts, and sweaters. Nicky sighs and hangs them up, moving to her trunk and hanging up some clothes for her to wear on the weekends as well as some nightgowns.

Nicky pulls out the small bow containing the nightgown and robe set her mother gave her as a going away gift. It was a vintage Sleeveless Olga Bodysilk Nightgown and Robe in French Vanilla White with a full 216" sweep. It was beautiful with a deep v cut, lace inset front and bust line. The robe had lace around the cuffs and along the front opening and collar. They were both made from the finest silky materials. They were also incredibly expensive. Nicky runs her fingers over the soft material and sighs, putting the box with the gown and robe still in it back in her trunk.

Nicky takes out her purse, putting her new card in her wallet and her purse in her night stand. She heads into the bathroom, surprised that there were two bathrooms. She looks around noticing that it wasn't a very big room, just a toilet, a sink with a little counter top space, a shower that was maybe 3' by 3' and a towel rack. The shower had a glass door that was foggy. When Nicky looks inside she sees there are a couple shelves set into the wall that she can put her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash on. After setting those things up she puts her tooth brush, tooth paste and hair brush away as well, hanging up her towels and loofa as well before leaving the bathroom, making sure there was toilet paper.

Nicky sits down at her desk to wait for dinner. She takes out some of the books she had brought with her, setting them up on her desk. She looks through the desk. They had taken the liberty to provide all of the school supplies she will need. Nicky sighs rolling her eyes. There was paper, notebooks, pens, mechanical pencils and lead, a ruler, note cards and everything. Nicky turns on her desk lamp, again something they were kind enough to provide.

Nicky looks out the window, it was a cold day and it looked like it was going to start raining any second now. Nicky looks at her watch, it was only 3:25. There was still 35 minutes until class got out and then two more hours until dinner. Nicky wasn't really going to expect Christine to come get her right away so she figures she might as well get in a quick nap, after all she was a little jetlagged. She shuts off her desk lamp and walks over to her bed, taking off her shoes and setting her alarm for 4:00. Nicky lies down on top of her bed and closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

As the bell rings, signaling the time to switch class Christine and her two friends, Leslie and Sarah, head out to their next class. Christine had long black hair down past her bottom and purple eyes. Leslie had blond hair about the same length with blue eyes and Sarah had bronze, shoulder length hair with red-brown eyes. Their group extended to two younger girls in the class below them. Their names were Natalie and Alison. Natalie was Christine's cousin. She had light blue hair and chocolate colored eyes. Alison had strawberry blond hair and green eyes. The five of them were the prettiest girls in the school and it seemed as if everyone else looked up to them, even the girls who were older than them.

"So," Leslie turns to Christine, "I hear you're finally getting a roommate Chrissie."

Chrissie nods, "Yeah. Her name is Niccole."

Sarah tilts her head a bit, "Really? Do you know what she looks like?"

Chrissie shakes her head, "All I know is that she's from America." Chrissie looks over at her friends, "She's supposed to be arriving today. You'll have to come when I go to meet her after class." The two other girls nod as they walk into their next class. The afternoon passes quickly as the girls go to a couple other classes. After their last class the three older girls meet up with the younger two.

"So what are we doing today?" Alison asks, looking around the group.

Chrissie looks over at the slower girl. "Well, I'm getting my new roommate today and we were going to go meet her."

"Really? Can we come?" Alison gives a big smile.

"Yeah, that's why Chrissie said 'we' were going to meet her," Leslie says, rolling her eyes.

"Oh…" Alison blinks, an empty look on her face, "Well, let's go!" The five girls head for the dorm. Leslie leans in closer to Chrissie asking in a whisper, "Why do we keep her around again?"

Chrissie whispers back, "She makes the rest of us look smarter." Leslie mouths 'oh' and glances back at the dumber girl.

Nicky's alarm went off at exactly 4:00, waking her from her nape. She rubs her eyes and goes to use the bathroom. She still couldn't believe she had her own bathroom. Nicky sighs as she exits her bathroom, picking up her favorite novel and sitting on her bed to read a bit. She only got two paragraphs in when the door opened and five girls came walking in. Nicky blinks in surprise, wondering which one of these girls were her roommate. She sets her book to the side and stands up.

Chrissie looks at Nicky and gives her a smile, "Hello, you must be Niccole. I'm your roommate Chrissie. This is Leslie, Sarah, Natalie and Alison." Chrissie motions to each girl as she introduces each girl. They each smile and say hello.

Nicky smiles back at the girls, "Hi, it's nice to meet all of you, and I actually go by Nicky."

"So you're from America?" Alison asks, moving forward. Nicky nods. "That's so cool! So do your parents live nearby?"

"Uh, no they're still in America," Nicky says, crossing her arms.

"Really, then how did you get here?" Alison asks, cocking her head a bit.

"I rode a plane," Nicky wondered if this girl was a little slow. The look on the faces of the other girls confirmed that she was.

"Anyway," Chrissie rolls her eyes, "Would you like to go for a tour of the school now?"

Nicky smiles, "Sure."

"Great!" Chrissie locks arms with Nicky and the group of girls head out. Nicky really wasn't the kind of person how liked too much physical contact, but she does her best to ignore how awkward she felt. That aside, Chrissie and her group really was nice. Nicky wasn't really able to make friends that easy, but it really seemed like these five would be the first friends she would make here and Nicky was really happy about that.


	3. Betrayed

**Chapter 2 – Betrayed**

Nicky rolls over at pulls the covers tighter over her head. She has just finished her first week at the Isis Boarding School for Girls and now it was finally the weekend and she was really wanted to sleep in. She had to wake up at 6 every morning during the week, but since it was the weekend she could sleep in an extra hour and a half. At 7:30 Nicky hears Chrissie's alarm go off and the other girl get out of bed. Nicky hears a door open and close then a shower start a few minutes later.

Nicky sits up, yawning and stretching. She was glad to have her own bathroom, happy that she won't have to wait for Chrissie to get out of the bathroom. The girl takes so long! Nicky chuckles a bit. It really was funny how Chrissie was spent so much time in front of a mirror. It wasn't like she had to look good for any men, since this was an all-girl school after all. Though, since they could go into town on the weekends Nicky could understand Chrissie taking extra time today.

Nicky slowly gets out of bed and heads over to her armoire to get a change of clothes before heading into her bathroom to shower and get ready for breakfast. When she walks out of her bathroom and looks over at Chrissie. She was wearing a long skirt and a pretty sweater while Nicky was wearing pants and a sweatshirt over a long t-shirt. Chrissie had her hair up in the usual ponytail with a red ribbon tied around it. Nicky, who's hair reaches the back of her knees when it's down, had her hair up in a long braid. "You look nice today Chrissie," Nicky says with a smile.

Chrissie smiles back, "Thank you, I don't think I've ever seen your hair up before."

Nicky nods, "Yeah, I just figured since it was getting cold, I'd put my hair up." And it was getting cold since it was getting close to winter. Jason hadn't actually applied for Nicky to go to the school until late November since that was when he had heard about the school. Normally the school wouldn't have taken in a new student like that, but another student had to drop out so they had an opening. Jason knew it was really lucky that Nicky had gotten accepted.

The two girls head out to meet up with the other four girls before heading to breakfast. While they eat the girls are talking about what they want to do in town and where they want to have lunch. Chrissie turns to Nicky, "So, where do you want to go to eat?"

Nicky jumps a little, even though they let her hang out with them Chrissie and her crew didn't really include Nicky in their conversations very much. Nicky smiles, "Actually, I was going to stay behind today and do my laundry."

"That's too bad," Leslie says, even though it was obvious she didn't mean it. From the first day it seemed like Leslie didn't like her very much.

"Yeah, this is your first weekend here you should into town with us," Chrissie says, sounding much more genuine, "But if you really want to stay then that's okay."

"Yeah, sorry," Nicky stands up, taking her tray and dishes over to the drop off area where the kitchen workers collect them. Nicky sighs and heads back to her room to get her laundry while the others go off to whatever it is they usually do on Saturdays. Nicky spends an hour doing her laundry, folding and putting it away. Since she wasn't really able to check out the school library during the week, Nicky heads there next. She spends two whole hours walking around and finding books to check out.

By the time Nicky gets back to her room it's already 11:30. Nicky spends some time reading then heads down for lunch. Nicky spends her afternoon walking around the school grounds and trying to familiarize herself with the area. Around 5:00 Nicky heads back inside to call home. Since the area she was in was five hours ahead of her home town she figured if she called then her mom would be either eating or making lunch.

The phone only rings twice before it's picked up and a familiar voice is heard on the other end, "Hello?"

Nicky smiles, "Hi mom."

"Nicky! Hi, how have you been? How is school going?" Kathy sounds really happy and relieved to hear from Nicky.

Nicky chuckles, "I'm alright and school is going okay. I have a nice roommate and she lets me hang out with her and her friends."

"That's great to hear. Have you been eating well? And what about your laundry? I read that you have to wash your own clothes." Kathy sounded a bit worried.

Nicky chuckles again, "I'm eating fine. They serve really balanced meals here. The school even employs its own dietitian. As for the clothes, yes I have to wash them. I actually did my laundry earlier this morning and everything came out okay so you don't have to worry about that either."

"That's good," there is a small pause, "Are you…enjoying yourself? Do you like it there?"

Nicky sighs, "Well, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I would rather be home, but I don't hate it here."

"Good. I really miss you sweetie."

"I know mom, I miss you too," Nicky looks down, glad the phones were in little booths and no one could see her. "But, at least I'll be able to come home for winter break and that's coming up here pretty soon." Nicky says with a smile that slowly fades when the line stays quiet, "Mom? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Nicky hears her mom say, sounding guilty and Nicky's stomach drops.

"Mom… I _am_ coming home for winter break, right?" Nicky grips the phone waiting for her mom to say yes, that she was being silly for even asking, but the line goes quiet again. Nicky starts to panic, clutching the phone even tighter, "Mom?"

There is another pause, "Uh, well… Jason has to go to a business meeting in Aspen… He's going to be gone for two weeks, from the 21st to the 4th…"

"So?" Nicky already knew though.

"He wants me to go with him. The client told him to bring me and… I'm so sorry baby." Nicky stays quiet. "Nicky?" she hears her mom ask, but she just hangs up the phone, sitting there for a few moments. _I knew it… He's taking mom on a vacation during the two weeks I'm supposed to be coming home. I hate him…_ Nicky stands and heads back to her room. She really wanted to punch something, but instead she falls face first onto her bed and cries for a little while, goes down for dinner, comes back to her room and takes a shower.

Nicky still couldn't believe her mom was going along with what Jason was planning instead of waiting for her to come home. She was her only child for Christ sake! Nicky sighs and gets out of the shower, drying her hair and putting on her long flowing nightgown. She stares at her reflection for a bit. She really loved her Olga nightgown. It was so pretty! Nicky smiles, slipping on the silky robe that goes with her gown and stepping into a pair of soft white slippers, ones that look almost like ballet shoes, before stepping out into her bedroom.

Nicky was surprised to see that Chrissie was back and the other four were with her. They were all laughing and going through the things they had bought while in town. The girls look over, all of them going quiet. Chrissie's eyes widen and Leslie's jaw drops. Alison is the first person to speak, "Wow… You're so pretty!" she jumps out of her seat, running over and latching on to Nicky's arm.

Nicky jumps, blushing a bit, "Uh… okay?"

"She means your nightgown," Natalie explains, "It's really pretty."

"Oh, thank you," Nicky smiles, patting Alison on the head. She and Natalie were actually a grade below the rest of them. It was actually their uniforms that made Nicky ask her first day about it. Their uniforms were a little different form her and the other two's. Alison lets go and goes back to sit down.

"What brand is that?" Chrissie asks, motioning for Nicky to sit down.

Nicky sits down on her own bed, "It's a vintage Olga Bodysilk."

"Vintage?" Leslie asks.

Nicky nods, "It's a 70's model."

"Well, it's very pretty," Chrissie says with a smile and the girls move on to a different topic. The girls stay up talking until 11:00 when Chrissie changes the topic again, "So, I think it's about time to tell Nicky about the initiation."

The other girls go quiet and Nicky looks around at all of them before asking, "What initiation?"

"Well, you see it's something we all had to do, how you officially get into our group," Chrissie explains smiling.

Now Nicky was worried, "What is it?"

Chrissie stands and moves over to the window, pulling the curtain to the side and motioning outside. Nicky stands and walks over, looking at what she was pointing to. "The gate?" Nicky looks over at Chrissie who moves to stand in front of the door.

All she says is "Come with me," before walking out, the other girls following close behind. Nicky stands there for a moment before walking and following the group out to the lobby and stopping in front of the dorm entrance. Chrissie turns back to look at Nicky, "Your initiation is, you have to go outside, go over to the gate, touch it and come back."

Nicky stares at Chrissie for a moment. She looks out at the tall bronze gate that was a good ways off. There weren't many lights so it was pretty dark. The only light touching the gate was the light from the full moon. Nicky looks back at Chrissie and asks, "Why?" She just doesn't see the point.

The girls look around at each other, mumbling to themselves. Chrissie raises an eyebrow, "Why?" Chrissie scoffs, "It…it's a show of loyalty, a test of courage. It's to prove to the rest of the group that you will stick with us no matter what. We've all done it."

Nicky crosses her arms, glancing outside before looking back at Chrissie, "It's against the rules to go out after 8:00."

"I know. We _all_ know," Chrissie pinches the bridge of her nose and rubs her eyes sighing, "Look, because it's against the rules is one of the reasons we _do_ this. It's a way of bonding." Chrissie walks over and puts a hand on Nicky's shoulder, "It's a secret we each share. It's kind of like; if one of us tells we all get in trouble so we know no one will tell."

Nicky just blinks and shakes her head, "I don't want to do it. I don't want to get in trouble my first week here."

Chrissie gives a heavy sigh, "Look, you won't get in trouble, okay? We'll all go outside _with_ you. _You_ just have to walk over to the gate by yourself."

"I don't want to. It's cold out and I'm in a very thin gown," Nicky crosses her arms tighter.

"Nicky…" Chrissie gives Nicky her sad, disappointed look.

"Look, you don't have to worry about me telling anyone. I mean, really who would believe me? I just really don't want to go out." Nicky just stands there looking at the other girls not wanting to tell them the real reason was that she was afraid of the dark.

Chrissie gives a disappointed sigh, "I was really hoping you would just agree to this…" Chrissie walks over to stand near the others. Nicky just stares at the group, a confused look on her face. She didn't understand what Chrissie meant until the girls suddenly grabbed her and shoved her outside, closing the door on her.

"C-Chrissie!" Nicky spins around and tries to open the door, finding it locked. She feels her heart start to pound as she bangs on the door. "Chrissie let me back in!"

Chrissie moves the curtain and Nicky hears her call out, "Touch the gate and we'll let you back in."

"No, let me in right now!" Nicky shouts back. Chrissies shakes her head and points towards the gate and Nicky can hear giggles and laughter coming from inside. "Let me in or I swear I'll report you for this first thing in the morning!" The laughter stops and Chrissie's eyes widen. Nicky watches her look over to the side, her mouth moving. She was obviously talking to the others. Chrissie looks back over at Nicky, letting the curtain fall back to cover the window.

Nicky bangs on the door again, trying to get it open. When the door doesn't budge Nicky looks back behind her, puller her robe tighter to try and fight off the cold. It was so dark out… Nicky feels her heart pounding in her chest. She could stand the dark while she was in her own room, lying in her own bed, but out there with all that open space it was terrifying. Someone could easily sneak up on her, especially with the gown and robe she was wearing. In the moonlight it was almost like they were glowing.

Nicky shivers and looks back at the door, moving a bit to try and keep warm. She whimpers and looks around again. Suddenly the door behind her flies open and Nicky is grabbed from behind, a pillow case thrown over her head and she was being dragged. Nicky struggled a bit but with two girls on each arm there wasn't really much she could do.

As Nicky struggles she hears the sound of metal against metal. Then she feels herself being shoved, the pillow case being pulled off of her head as well as her robe being yanked off. Nicky spins around to see a small rot iron door being slammed shut and locked from the inside. Nicky's eyes widen when she sees that she was on the outside of the wall surrounding the school grounds.

"Wh-what the hell?" Nicky can only manage a rough whisper.

Chrissie and Leslie stand looking at her from the inside while the other three head off to go back inside. Chrissie stares at Nicky, a sad look on her face, "You should have just done the initiation." Chrissie turns and heads back inside.

Leslie stands there, for a bit longer, holding Nicky's robe in her hands. She had a less sympathetic look. She actually glares at Nicky saying soft enough so only the two of them could hear, "You should have never come here. You should have just stayed in America."

"What?" Nicky stares at Leslie, shaking from fear and the cold. Leslie spins around and heads back inside. "Wait!" Nicky calls out, "Wait, come back!" Nicky grabs onto the door. "Come back! Let me back in!" She watches as the door to the dormitory closes behind the last girl. Nicky feels tears in her eyes. _They'll come back out, right? They'll have to let me back in. They can't leave me out here all night, I'll freeze._ But something told her, that was exactly what they were counting on. _ Oh god… Please tell me they aren't trying to kill me._

Nicky jumps when she hears a twig snap behind her. She spins around, seeing a flash of white and then everything went black.


	4. The Man with the Maroon Eyes

**Chapter 3 – The Man with the Maroon Eyes**

Nicky feels something soft beneath her and something warm overtop of her. She was comfortable, but there was something wrong about it. Wasn't she just outside? Yes, Chrissie and her friends locked her outside school grounds. Then, where was she? The longer Nicky thinks about it, the more the uneasy feeling grows. There was something else too. Her bedroom smelled like books and Downy fabric softener, but the room she was in now smelled like… like flowers… like fresh cut roses.

Nicky slowly opens her eyes. This defiantly wasn't her room. She was lying in a canopy bed that was even larger than her own. She looks around and sees that the curtains on the bed were closed, but there was a bit of light, so she figured it must be the day time. Nicky sits up a bit too quickly and she feels her head spin. Nicky groans and lays back down, rubbing her head. She stares up at the roof of the canopy, wondering where she was.

Nicky hears movement in the room and she tenses a bit. She looks over to the side and sees the curtain move a bit. It slides to the side and Nicky can only stare at the tall and very handsome man standing next to the bed. He had dark hair and eyes, but Nicky couldn't tell the exact colors with the dim light. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake," he says in a low voice soft voice, "How are you feeling?"

Nicky stares up at the man for a few moments before nodding, "I'm a little light headed… Um, where am I?"

"You are somewhere safe. What were you doing out in the woods?" the man asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Nicky slowly sits up, trying not to pass out, "Actually, I go to the Isis School… Some of the girls from my dorm locked me outside." Nicky looks down getting a little upset thinking about how the girls who were supposed to be her friends had turned on her.

The man looks down at her, giving a sympathetic look, "Do you know why they would do something like that?"

Nicky closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, trying not to cry, "It's because they wanted me to do some stupid 'Initiation' thing to get into their little group. When I refused, they locked me out of the dorm. Then when I threatened to report them if they didn't let me back in, they came out, grabbed me and shoving me outside the school grounds and locking me out there." Nicky clutches the blanket. "I…I think they were trying to kill me…"

The man remains quiet as Nicky explains what happened. Nicky bites her lower lip, trying not to cry and the man places his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure that wasn't it. They were probably just trying to scare you."

Nicky wipes her eyes, and looks up at him, "I was wearing a robe. One of them actually took it from me as they were locking me outside school grounds." He grows quiet again. Nicky looks back down as the silence stretches on a few moments. Nicky takes a deep breath, looking over at the man again, "Do you know what happened to me? Before I blacked out I heard a twig snap behind me and when I looked back I saw a flash of white. The next thing I knew I was waking up here."

He shakes his head, "No, I'm sorry. You were already unconscious when I found you."

"Oh," Nicky says softly, "What is your name?"

"My name is Kaname Kuran," he introduces, "And yours?"

"Niccole Kinsley, but I go by Nicky," Gives him a small smile.

Kaname offers his hand, "It's nice to meet you Nicky." Nicky shakes his hand and he stands up, "You must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat."

"Oh, thank you," Nicky watches him move out of her field of vision. Since only the one curtain was open she couldn't see very much. Nicky hears a door open and close. From the sound of it the room must be pretty big. A thought slowly creeps into Nicky's mind. She was alone and for all she knew it was just her and that man, Kaname there. He said he had found her passed out in the woods. For all she knew he could have done 'things' to her.

As Nicky thinks about all the horrible things that could have happened while she was unconscious she starts to panic. Nicky checks to make sure she still has her underwear on. Nicky sighs in relief and tries to relax a bit when she sees they are on. Kaname didn't seem like a bad guy, she shouldn't jump to conclusions. Nicky looks up wondering where she was exactly and what that thing was that she saw before blacking out. Nicky reaches up to scratch her neck, but stops when she feels bandages.

Nicky feels a chill go down her spine. She had heard some of the other students talking about girls getting attacked after dark. They said that was why the school had such a strict curfew. Nicky gets a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. What if she had been attacked by a vampire? What if that was why she was light headed and why she couldn't remember what happened?

Nicky jumps out of bed, going light headed again. She catches herself on the nightstand next to the bed, almost knocking over a vase full of cut roses. Once her head stops spinning she slowly stands up straight and looks around. She was in a large room with a high ceiling and dark, thick curtains on the windows. Nicky walks around a little, looking into a couple doors. The first door led to a deep walk in closet, the second was a large, gorgeous bathroom.

Nicky turns on the light and walks in, heading over to the mirror. She looked even paler then she usually did. She touches the bandages wrapped around her neck and slowly unwraps them. Her eyes widen when she sees two red puncture marks on the side of her neck. Nicky gently touches the bite marks, causing them to hurt a little. The next thing Nicky knows she's on the bathroom floor, looking up at a slightly worried looking Kaname.

"What happened?" he asks, helping her to her feet and back over to the bed.

Nicky rubs the back of her head, "I think I fainted." Her head hurt from hitting the floor. Kaname sighs and Nicky sits down on the bed. Nicky touches her neck, her hand shaking slightly. She looks up to see Kaname walk into the bathroom then back out, carrying the bandages. Kaname gently wraps Nicky's neck again. "What…What happened to me?" Nicky asks in a whisper, looking up at Kaname with wide eyes.

Kaname sighs, "I don't know. You should take things a little easier for a while. You don't know how much blood you've lost." Nicky nods, feeling uneasy again. What if this man was the one who…? Kaname walks over to a tray of food and brings it over to Nicky, setting it on the bed next to her.

"You should try to eat. When you're feeling strong enough I'll take you back to your school." Nicky nods and Kaname takes a step back, "I've sent someone out to get some clothes for you. When he returns I'll bring the clothes in." Nicky nods and watches Kaname head for the door. Nicky waits until he walks out, and turns to the food. It all looked so good and it smelled wonderful. Nicky picks up the tray, setting it on her lap and taking a few bites. It was delicious!

Whoever did the cooking was really talented. When she's full, Nicky sets the tray on the night stand and uses the restroom. After washing her hands she lays back down to try and rest a little more. When Nicky closes her eyes she sees Kaname's worried face again. _His eyes were such a pretty color. They were deep red-brown. I think they're maroon. And he had really soft looking brown hair._

Nicky must have nodded off because a little later she woke up to a loud boom. Nicky sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looks around, slowly standing and moving over to one of the windows. Nicky pulls the curtain open and looks outside at the pouring rain. Nicky sighs, glad that she isn't out there right now. It must be freezing outside. Nicky jumps when she hears the door open and looks back, seeing Kaname walk in.

Kaname walks over and looks outside as the thunder rumbles. "I guess you'll have to stay a little longer then we initially thought," he says looking down at Nicky, "How are you feeling?"

"A little better, I'm still a little light headed though," Nicky answers, looking up at Kaname. He nods, moving over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand.

Kaname looks back over at Nicky, "I'm sorry to ask this, but would you mind staying in here? The other guests don't know you are here and I would like to avoid any issues." Nicky nods. "Thank you, I'll be right back with your lunch," Kaname says before walking out.

Nicky looks down, a little worried now. There were other people there, but they didn't know she was there? He could just be telling her that to keep her from trying to escape. Maybe he was hiding things and just didn't want her roaming around and finding something. Or maybe there really were other people there who would get upset if they found out she was there and he just didn't want any conflict. Either way Nicky was getting a little scared. _I just want to go back to school…_ Now _that_ was a scary thought. She didn't even want to go to that school in the first place, now all she can think about is going back.

Nicky sighs and sits back down on the bed as the thunder rumbles outside. There really wasn't much for her to do and she was getting bored pretty quickly. Nicky picks one of the roses out of the vase next to the bed and sniffs it. It was a deep red and smelled really good. The vase held every color of rose there was. There were white, yellow, orange, pink, red and even a light purple that she didn't even know roses came in. Nicky sniffs every one of them to see which one smells the best. The purple ones smelled best by far.

Nicky jumps and looks back over when Kaname walks back in. Nicky watches him walk over to a table with a couple chairs set around it. "I thought we could eat together," Kaname says setting the tray down, "I guessed you would be getting bored."

Nicky stands up and walks over, sitting down in one of the chairs, "Yes, I was." Kaname takes the seat opposite Nicky and the two of them have lunch together. Kaname asks a few questions about Nicky's classes, if she is enjoying them and just making polite conversation. Nicky smiles and laughs a bit. He seemed genuinely interested in what Nicky had to say, there was just one thing though. "Kaname?" Nicky asks as Kaname takes a sip of tea.

Kaname looks over, "Yes?"

"Where are you from?" Nicky asks, "Your accent is different."

Kaname gives a small chuckle, "No, I'm not. I'm just visiting a friend while on winter vacation. He's the one who owns this manor. I'm actually from Japan."

That was really shocking, "You're from Japan? You speak English so fluently, I would have never guessed."

Her surprise amused Kaname a bit, "Thank you. Your accent is different as well, where are you from?"

"America, my stepdad was the one who enrolled me at the Isis School," Nicky says, messing with a lock of hair.

"I see. Did you know he was looking at Isis?" Kaname asks, sipping his tea.

"No," Nicky says, looking down, "He just sort of sprang it on me. I had no Idea until about two weeks before I was supposed to start school…"

"What's wrong?" Kaname asks, noticing that she was getting upset again.

"He was just trying to get rid of me. That's why he enrolled me in a boarding school here in England," Nicky says, trying to keep from crying. Why was she so emotional lately? It was so embarrassing.

Kaname reaches over and places his hand on hers, "I'm sure that's not it. The Isis School is a very good school."

Nicky shakes her head, wiping her eyes with her free hand, "No, I know that's the reason."

"How do you know? Why would he want to get rid of you?" Kaname asks.

"I know because he's taking my mom on a vacation the two weeks I'm supposed to be going home for winter break," Nicky explains as she begins to cry, "And it's because I wouldn't let him replace my real dad." Kaname wasn't really used to girls crying in front of him so he does the only thing he could think of. He stands up and moves over to kneel next to Nicky, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her as she breaks down. "M-my dad… has only been g-gone three years…" Nicky says between sobs, "I still m-miss him…" Nicky buries her face in her hands as she cries. Since her father's funeral Nicky has been trying to be strong and hold in her sadness, but now it was all rushing out as Kaname holds her and lets her cry. Kaname moves Nicky over to the bed so they can both sit comfortably.

Nicky leans against Kaname as she cries. It isn't until after two hours pass that Nicky is able to calm down. While she was crying Nicky ended up telling Kaname everything that has happened to her over the last three years. How her father, who she loved more than anything, died. How her mom started dating Jason and ended up marrying him. How he kept trying to get rid of everything that had to do with her father and how she refused to let him take her dad's place.

She ended with her parents breaking the horrible news to her that they were sending her away. How her mother tried to bribe her into going. All the fights and arguments they had over those two weeks. She explained how when she arrived how she thought Chrissie and her crew really liked her, but then they turned on her when she refused to do their stupid 'initiation' and why she didn't want to do it. How they locked her out of the dorm first, then how they grabbed her, threw a pillow case over her head and shoved her out the door near the school's gate. She tells Kaname how scared she was of the dark and how terrified she was when they walked away, leaving her out there.

The whole time Kaname kept his arms wrapped around Nicky, letting her cry and get everything out that's been eating at her for so long. Nicky takes a deep shaky breath and takes the handkerchief Kaname offers her to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. No one has ever taken the time to try and listen to her like that before, so Nicky was really embarrassed that she poured out her heart and soul to a complete stranger like that. "Sorry," she mumbles out, face a little pink.

Kaname just shakes his head, "You have nothing to be sorry for. It sounds like you've been through a lot in such a short time." Nicky nods quietly. Kaname rubs her back, "Have you ever tried to tell your mother how you feel?"

Nicky shakes her head, "She wouldn't listen either way. She's always been wrapped around Jason's finger, ever since their first date. She'd go along with anything he asked, even if it meant hurting me." And it was the truth. Nicky never wanted to move, but her mom never listened to her. She packed up their things and left her home town, the place where all their family was and moved across the country for Jason and they weren't even married yet.

Nicky mumbles softly, "Ever since she met him I became nothing but a second thought to her." Kaname pulls Nicky closer, hugging her and she leans her head on his chest. She was completely drained. She put all of her emotions out there and somehow, even if she shouldn't, she felt completely safe opening herself up to this man. He was so understood and even if it seemed like he was trying not to be, he was a very kind person… Nicky closes her eyes and soon falls asleep there in Kaname's arms.


	5. The Missing Girl

**Chapter 4 – The Missing Girl**

[The night before]

As the group of five walk into the dorm they are giggling and laughing. Alison turns to the others, "Wow, that was so funny! She's so scared, I wonder what she's going to say when we let her back in and tell her it was just a joke!"

Alison giggles again and Sarah laughs, "Yeah, I bet she's so scared right now!" The two girls walk off to go back to their separate rooms. The other three head up to Chrissie's room, chatting about other, less serious things. After about 15 minutes Natalie turns to the older two, "So, when are we letting Nicky back in?" Chrissie and Leslie grow quiet and Natalie gets a bad feeling. "Chrissie? When are we going to go let Nicky back in?"

"We're not," Leslie answers, like it wasn't a big deal.

Natalie's eyes widen, "What? If we don't let her back in, and soon might I add, she'll get hypothermia. She'll die out there if we…" Natalie trails off when the two older girl's expressions don't change. _Oh dear god, then plan on letting her die out there._ Natalie stands up quickly, "You can't really be intent on letting her…" Again they remain quiet and Natalie walks out of the room. She knew they were freaked out about Nicky threatening to report them, but this was going too far. They can be as mad as they want, but she was not going to have someone's death on her conscience.

It was too late though. By the time Natalie got outside and over to the gate, Nicky was gone. Natalie looks around and the wind blows slightly. When Natalie looks down she feels a chill go down her spine. There on the ground was a dark reflective pool. Natalie gets down on her knees, reaching forward and dipping her fingers into the liquid. She had to be sure…

Natalie runs back inside as fast as she could. As soon as she was in the light she looks down at her fingers, seeing they were a bright scarlet. Natalie runs back to Chrissie's room, hands shaking and face pale. She bursts through the door, half hysterical, "Chris!" she falls down on her knees and the other two walk over.

"Natalie, what's wrong?" Chrissie walks over helping her cousin to her feet seeing that her eyes were wide and she was shaking.

"N-ni…she wasn't… and there… a puddle… Blood!" Natalie shows her fingers to the older two.

"Blood?" Chrissie takes Natalie's hand, "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Natalie shakes her head. "Not me," she says in a breathless whisper, "Nicky…"

"What are you talking about?" Leslie asks, bringing a wet rag over to wipe off Natalie's fingers.

Chrissie gives a relieved sigh, "Nate, calm down. Use your words, tell us what happened."

Natalie takes a deep breath, "I went out to check on Nicky, to let her back in." Natalie sees the glare she gets from Leslie but goes on, "When I went out to the door she wasn't there and when I looked down…" Natalie looks down at the off white rag that now had a bright red spot on it. The room got very quiet for a while, the other two look down at the rag as well, their faces growing just as pale as Natalie's. "There was a puddle…" she says in a whisper, "She was gone and there was a puddle of-"

"Don't," Chrissie cuts Natalie off, "Don't say it. We can't tell anyone about this."

"She might be hurt!" Natalie cries standing up.

"You said there was a puddle and she was gone," Chrissie says, standing up as well, "There is nothing we can do now and if people find out what we did… We could get in a lot of trouble. No, we can't tell anyone about this and if someone asks, we don't know anything. Nicky and I went to sleep at the same time and when I woke up she was already gone and I just assumed she wanted to get an early start." Leslie nods in agreement, but Natalie just looks down suddenly feeling sick. Chrissie walks over to Natalie and takes her by the shoulders, "Nate, I need you to go get Alison and Leslie you get Sarah. We need to fill them in on this. No one can know the truth."

Natalie quietly walks out of the room with Leslie following behind. Once Chrissie closes her door, Leslie grabs Natalie by the shoulders and slams her against the wall, looking her straight in the face. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this, got it? We were all involved. You are just as guilty as the rest of us. You _cannot_ betray us Natalie." Leslie shakes Natalie to emphasize her point. Natalie stares at the older girl wide eyed and nods. "Good, now go get Alison." Leslie shoves Natalie and walks away.

Natalie looks down. She was scared now. Leslie has always been… odd but this, this was going too far. Natalie silently walks to Alison's room.

[The Following Morning]

Chrissie and her crew try their best to act normal as they go about their regular routine. They meet up at the usual spot, go to breakfast together and sit at their regular table. To most people it looked like every other Sunday morning. There was one person who noticed though. There was one person who saw how they were all acting odd. Well, everyone except Alison that is, but she was so dumb she probably had no idea what was going on.

"Take a look at the Chris-crew over there," a green eyed female says, brushing back her flicking back one of her chest length brown braids. Her friends look over and she continues, "Don't they look… off today? And the new girl is missing too. What do you think's going on?" She looks over at one of her friends, a girl with chin length black hair. She just shrugs. None of her friends really paid much attention to the Chris-Crew, but seeing the new girl was missing gave her a very uneasy feeling. She wasn't like the others. She was too nice, not like them. They were all self-absorbed twats but she was different. She can't help wondering what they did to her.

Her friend shrugs again, "They look the same as always to me. As for the new girl, she's probably sick or something. You're just being paranoid Eli, let it go." Eli, well Elizabeth but she just goes by Eli, looks back over at her friend. "Every time someone goes 'missing' you automatically think the Chris-Crew had something to do with it. They're always just sick or left to go to a different school or something. Read my lips- Let. It. Go."

Eli rolls her eyes, maybe she did suspect them of a lot of things and _maybe_ they were usually innocent, but this time… this time something didn't sit right with her. That and the little nerd was acting all guilty. No, something was going on.

Chrissie and the others head out like usual to catch the shuttle into town and Eli watches them go. She spots Natalie look over towards the little iron door near the gate a weird look on her face. Right after the shuttle pulled out of the school gates Eli heads over to the door to try and see what she was looking at. Right as she reaches the door it starts to rain. Eli looks out and sees a puddle of blood slowly dissolving in the rain. "Oh… my…" Eli whispers before turning and running back inside as thunder claps outside.

"Guys!" she runs over to her friends, "They did do something to her!"

Eli's friends look over at her, the one with the short black hair walks over, "You're soaking wet Eli."

"Never mind that!" Eli cries, rolling her eyes, "Look, I found something! There was blood outside the door near the gate! The little nerd from the Chris-Crew looked over at it before the shuttle left and when I went to check it out there was a puddle of blood!"

All of them look around at their group, "Alright, show us." They grab a couple umbrellas as Eli impatiently waits and then they head out to look, but by the time they reach the door the only puddles they could see were rain. "Yeah… a puddle of blood…"

"No! There really was blood here! The rain must have washed it away." Eli says as her friends turn to go back inside. Eli silently follows. "They did something to her and I'm going to prove it," she vows quietly to herself.

"Would Christine Roberts please come to Headmistress Richards office please?" Heather says over the intercom. All of Eli's friends look over at her.

"I told you," Eli says, walking away.

While in town Chrissie and her friends go around, shopping and laughing like usual, but it was for show. They were all scared. They had a feeling the headmistress would want to speak to them as soon as they got back so they couldn't really enjoy themselves. Well, except for Alison. They told her what they were going to tell everyone else. Nicky came back in, she was gone when Chrissie woke up. As they walk around the girls head into a clothing store. They look over when Chrissie suddenly stops.

"Wow…" Chrissie says, a star struck look on her face. The other look over in the direction she was looking and see what she was staring at. There was a tall blond male they had never seen before looking around with a confused look on his face and a slip of paper in his hand. Chrissie walks over to him, a smile on her face. "Hello there, do you need some help?"

He looks down at her and gives a smile back, "Oh, yes I do. You see, I need to get something for my…cousin for Christmas. I wanted to get her something nice to wear but I have no Idea what to get."

"Well, we can help you with that," Chrissie says, flirting just a bit. "I'm Chrissie."

"My name is Aidou," he says, handing her the slip, "These are her measurements." They spend the next half hour walking all over the store, picking out a few things until finally they find a cute outfit for Aidou. "Thank you, this is really a huge help."

"You're welcome," Chrissie says with a flirtatious smile. Aidou doesn't really pay much attention though. Instead he takes the clothes they helped him pick out and walks away. Chrissie sighs, "He must be gay." The others laugh a little and they head out to a different store. Shortly after they leave Aidou gets a phone call from Kaname.

"Aidou, you'll need to get a few more outfits. It looks like Nicky is going to be here for a while," Kaname tells him while preparing lunch for the girl.

" Uh, yes Kaname-sama," Aidou says into the receiver, not really happy to hear the girl he bit was going to be staying longer then she had too. He was still sore from the punishment Kaname gave him for biting someone while they were supposed to be on break.

"Good, and don't forget to get her underthings as well."

"Yes Kaname-sama," Aidou says as he hears the phone cut off. He sighs as he goes to get a few more outfits using the advice those girls gave him. He then heads over to the panty store to buy some bras and underwear. He got a few weird looks from the people there, but he tries his best to ignore all of the stares. He pays for his things and walks out, walking over to the car and finally starting back for the manor.

When the girls finally get back to the school, Heather was there waiting for them. "Girls," she says, looking at them, "You need to come with me. The Headmistress needs to talk to you."

"Yes Miss Heather," Chrissie says, acting as innocent as she could. They all head to the Headmistress's office and Heather waits while they go in. Natalie glances around right before she walks in and spots the girl with the orange streaks. She could tell by the look on the girl's face that she knew about Nicky. Maybe not everything, but she knew they had something to with her disappearance. Natalie looks away ashamed as she walks into the office. "You wanted to see us Headmistress?" Chrissie asks.

Miss Richards motions to the chairs lined up in front of her, "Sit down girls. We need to talk." After they were all seated she gets right to the point, "It seems Niccole has gone missing. We checked the computers and she hasn't used her school card at all today. I was hoping that since you girls were her friends you might know what has happened to her."

Chrissie shrugs, "We don't know. Nicky and I went to bed the same time last night, but when I got up she was gone. I just figured she wanted to get an early start." All of the other girls agreed.

Miss Richards sighs, "I was hoping you girls would have more to say then that…" She shakes her head and it is all Natalie can do to keep her head down and her mouth shut. "You can go now girls."

As they all stand to leave Eli come bursting in, "Wait! They're lying to you!" all of the girls freeze and Natalie looks over at Eli, shocked. Miss Richards looks around at the girls, gaging their reactions.

"You are lying to me, aren't you?" she asks the girls a disappointed look on her face. They try to deny it, but Miss Richards doesn't believe them. She looks at the girls, "Sit back down, now." They all sit and miss Richards calls Heather in.

"Yes Headmistress?" Heather asks, pushing up her glasses.

"I want you to go over the security tapes from last night, up to this morning." Miss Richards looks back at the girls, "Now, is there anything you girls would like to tell me?" The girls stay quiet and Natalie begins to sweat. Miss Richards looks over at Eli, "Would you like to explain your accusation?"

Eli nods, "Yes, this morning I noticed that they," Eli jerks her thumb over towards the Chris-Crew, "were acting weird and that the new girl was missing. Then when they were leaving on the shuttle I saw her," she points over at Natalie, "looked over at the door in the wall, the one near the gate and she had this weird look on her face. So I went over to see what was over there. When I got there, there was this big puddle of blood." Miss Richards eyes widen.

Chrissie stands up, "Prove it!"

"I… I can't. The rain washed it away," Eli says, glaring over at Chrissie who was glaring right back. "But I know they did something to her! She wasn't like the rest of them so they got rid of her!"

"You're insane! We didn't do anything to Nicky!" Chrissie argues and Eli has to fight back the urge to kick her in the throat. She could too, she does Yoga.

Miss Richards stands slowly, "Chrissie, sit down," Chrissie sits back down, "Elizabeth, is this true? Was there blood out there?"

Eli nods, "Yeah, there was a good amount, so I know she must have been hurt." Eli looks over at the girls, "I think you should try talking to them, one by one to see if you can get the truth out them."

"Good idea," Miss Richards nods.

"You should start with her," Eli says, pointing at Natalie who looked like she was about to crack. Miss Richards nods and sends the others out. Eli follows behind them, smirking just a bit, "You won't get away with this."

Miss Richards looks at Natalie, "Natalie, you're a good girl. I know you didn't mean any harm, so why don't you tell me what really happened?"

Natalie breaks down and starts crying, "Okay! I confess, we did it, we locked Nicky outside school grounds." Miss Richards sighs, putting her elbows on the desk and burying her face in her hands. If something had happened to Niccole… The school would be in a lot of trouble. Natalie looks up at Miss Richards, "But I went back out after 15 minutes to get her, but when I got to the door she was gone and there was a puddle of blood. We don't know what happened to her. I never meant to hurt her I swear!"

As Natalie starts sobbing hysterically Miss Richards sighs and walks over, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Now Natalie, please calm down. We don't know what really happened to Niccole yet and we will do everything we can to find her. Now, can you tell me whose idea this whole thing was?"

Natalie nods and tells her everything, from the initiation to what happened when they locked Nicky outside the dorm. How Chrissie freaked out and how she and Leslie came up with the idea together. How they used to pillow case to blindfold her then shoved her outside the iron door. How Leslie took her robe and how they all went back inside. She leaves out the part about Chrissie and Leslie meaning for Nicky to die out there. Instead she says that they were just trying to scare her into staying quiet but when she went out to get her she was gone.

Miss Richards sighs and Heather walks in, "Headmistress? I got the tape." They call the girls back in and they all watch the tape, even Eli. It only had a view of the dorm, but it confirmed what Natalie had said.

Miss Richards sighs and looks back over at the girl, "This is a very serious matter girls. Niccole is missing and from what it looks like, you are all in a lot of trouble." The girls stayed quiet, Alison mainly because she was very confused. "Someone has to be held accountable for this."

Eli looks down. She knew she should be happy about finally busting the Chris-Crew, but thinking about Nicky being missing and it thunder storming out, she just can't get any enjoyment out of her triumph. Eli looks over at the girls, who look over at her. Every one of them looks at least a little guilty, that is except for Leslie. She just looked pissed that she was caught.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Eli asks the Headmistress.

Miss Richards sighs, "There really isn't anything we _can_ do until it stop raining. Until then, you girls are under house arrest. You are not to leave your rooms until further notice." And with that the girls are escorted back to their rooms.

Aidou finally gets back to the manor around 8:45-9:00. The roads were horrible after over 10 hours of rain, but he was finally back. Aidou walks into the manor and heads to find Kaname. He was just heading to his room from what had become the human girl's room. "Kaname-sama, I'm finally back!" Aidou calls rushing over to the other man, speaking in Japanese. "The roads are horrible out, I'm surprised I made it back in one piece."

Kaname looks over at him, taking the bags and replying in the same language, "I see. I guess Nicky will have to stay until the roads clear up." Kaname turns and heads back towards the girl's room. Aidou looks over at Kaname.

"Uh, Kaname-sama, have you been to sleep at all today?" Aidou asks, following behind the older man.

Kaname looks at Aidou, "I haven't been able to. I've been taking care of the girl _you_ attacked."

Aidou looks down a little ashamed, or at least trying to act it, "Um, how is she?"

Kaname stops outside Nicky's door and looks at Aidou, "She is still pale and weak from loss of blood and she gets light headed if she stands too quickly." Aidou scratches the back of his head. "Aidou, since this is your fault and she will be here for a while, you will be responsible for keeping her safe." Aidou looks at Kaname surprised. "I would like to keep her being here from the others for as long as possible." Aidou nods, "And if she gets hurt, it will be your fault."

Aidou nods again. "Oh uh, do I get to go in and talk to her?" Aidou asks, but the look on Kaname's face shoots down and hopes of that.

"I don't want _anyone_ going into Nicky's room, understand? I am the only one who will be going in to see her."

Aidou nods, the look on Kaname's face told him to just agree and not push his luck. Aidou walks away to go back to his room, remembering what happened when he saw that girl standing outside that school.

[Flashback]

Aidou is walking through the woods. He heard there was an all-girl school around here somewhere and he would like to have a look for himself. That was when he saw a girl in a long flowing gown with long blond hair down past her knees. Well, at least he assumed it went down that long, he couldn't really see her knees. She looked really scared and she was shouting to what he guessed were some class mates. It sounded like she had been locked out by them.

Aidou walks over to her, stepping on a twig to let her know he was there. He didn't want to scare her too much. He watches her spin around to look at him, he raises his hands in a gesture to show he didn't mean her harm, "Hello there, Little Princess. Did you get locked out?" She was actually quite attractive for a human, especially in that gown the way it fit her, with its lace and how it was sleeveless and form fitting around her bust and waist.

Aidou takes a couple steps towards her and she takes a step back, "S-stay back…" she says softly, eyes wide and shivering. She was obviously scared and cold.

Aidou raises his hands again, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He holds out his hand, "Why don't you come closer? I'll keep you warm."

"Stay back or I'll scream," she threatens, looking back in towards the school. The other girls were already inside. Aidou moves closer as she's looking away. He puts a hand on her arm and she jumps quickly moving away, "I said stay back!"

Aidou sighs, he was getting thirsty, "Hey, what blood type are you?"

"Why do you want to know?" she tries moving away, but Aidou grabs her by the arms and pulls her close to him. "Let go of me!" she cries out, struggling. Now this was a new one for him. No one has ever rejected him like this and it actually hurt a little. Aidou grabs her by the back of the head and bites down on her neck, drinking. He could tell right away that she was AB+ which was his favorite. She lets out an initial yelp when he first bites her.

For a few seconds she was quiet and the only thing she did was tense a bit, then she let out a scream and started fighting him. That was also a first. Most girls go limp or fainted when they were bitten, but this girl did the complete opposite. She ends up kneeing him in the groin, causing Aidou to let go and stumble back. The girl falls over, finally fainting. That was when Kaname showed up. He saw the unconscious girl with blood spilling from her neck and Aidou.

That was all he needed. Kaname walks over to Aidou. "Your coat," is all he says, holding out his hand. Aidou looks down and takes off his coat, handing it to Kaname. Kaname wraps it around the unconscious girl, picking her up, leaving a pool of blood. Kaname turns his back to Aidou, "You will receive your punishment once we arrive back at the manor." And he did.

Kaname had taken the girl to an empty room and wrapped her neck. He told Aidou that he had wiped the girl's memory of him biting her, but that didn't mean he was going to be to get away with biting someone. He wasn't supposed to be biting anyone to begin with, but practically attacking a scared girl while they were supposed to be on winter break was going way over board.

Aidou sighs as he heads back to his room. The girl had her clothes now and he was going to take a nap. He was just a little worried though. It seemed like Kaname was getting attached to this girl. He was certainly being a little over protective of her. Could they have really gotten that close in one day? She was just a human. He couldn't have actually grown close to her. Not that quickly at least. Aidou sighs and walks into his room to go to sleep.

Kaname quietly takes the bags into Nicky's room. He had woken her up for a bit to have dinner but she had gone back to sleep soon after. He quietly sits the bags down in front of the closet. He had written a list of things for Aidou to pick up along with the clothes, a tooth brush, hair brush, and things like that so she'd be more comfortable while she was there. She won't be able to leave right after the rain stops. They'll have to wait for the roads to dry a little before he takes her back to her school.

Kaname walks over to the bed and looks down at Nicky. She was sleeping soundly and he was grateful for that. He was surprised when suddenly broke down and opened up to him the way she did. Most people were intimidated by him and tried to keep their distance, but not her. The way she clung to him and how she opened up to him... At first he tried not to look too much into it, after all she was scared and vulnerable and he had offered her comfort and acceptance.

But then she mentioned something when he woke her so she could eat dinner. She explained to him how embarrassed she was over crying on him like that. She said that she normally didn't open up like that with people she had only just met, or at all really. She was certainly odd. He knew most girls would have thrown themselves at Aidou had they been in her position even if they had never met him before, but she wanted nothing to do with the other male. Instead she clung to him when others would feel far too uncomfortable to do so.

Kaname watches her sleep for a while, trying to understand whatever it was she must have been thinking when she saw Aidou. He gently brushes her bangs out of her face. She looked so peaceful while sleeping, but he knew she must have gone through so much emotional turmoil over the last few years and especially during these last few weeks and she has been keeping it all to herself. She was a strong person, even if she didn't see herself that way and from what he's seen and heard, she didn't.

Kaname gently runs his fingers across her cheek. She had such soft skin. Kaname pulls his hand back, cutting off that train of thought. He lets the curtains on the canopy down, cutting off his view of her. He turns and walks out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He glances at the sign he had hung on the door, requesting people to stay out of the room. He knew no one would go in. No one would go against his request, not even the owner of the manor. Of course he was gone at the moment and wouldn't return for at least a week. Kaname turns and heads for his room. He was tired and wanted to get some sleep.


	6. Falling for Him

**Chapter 5 – Falling for Him**

A couple hours later, around midnight Nicky wakes. Since she slept most of the day her body was telling her it's time to wake up. Nicky looks over and sees that the curtain was closed now. _Kaname must have closed it._ She wasn't sure why it made her happy to think that he had been in. _Wait a second, wasn't it just earlier this morning that I was worried me tried to molest me while I was unconscious? _Nicky shakes her head and opens the curtain, turning on the lamp.

She looks over, noticing the bags over by the closet. She slowly stands and walks over to them. Nicky looks through the bags at all the pretty outfits, there were even fresh panties and bras. Good. She takes a pair and goes into the bathroom to change. Afterwards she goes back through the bags, taking out the toiletries and taking them into the bathroom. She really needed a shower.

After taking her shower and drying off she puts on one of the new nightgowns. They were kind of the same style as her Olga, but she could tell the difference. Nicky walks back into her bedroom and goes over to the clothes, taking them into the closet and hanging them up. She suddenly realizes that she had been going around in front of Kaname in nothing but her nightgown. She didn't even have a bra on! Now that was embarrassing.

Nicky walks around the room. She was feeling a lot better than she had been that morning. Nicky walks over to the door, biting her thumb nail. She had told Kaname that she wouldn't go out, but it was the middle of the night and she was sure everyone would be asleep right now, right?

Nicky opens the door a crack. There was a soft light out in the hall and Nicky slowly steps out of her room, looking around. She starts walking down the hall looking around and wondering what it looked like outside. Nicky jumps when she hears someone running up behind her. She looks back to see a blond boy run over, "What are you doing out of your room?"

"Uh, I… got bored…" there was something very familiar about this boy, but Nicky just couldn't put her finger on it.

"You have to go right back to your room right now!" he says, getting behind her and guiding her back to her room.

"H-hey! Don't push!" Nicky protests slightly but lets him take her back to her room. Nicky stops at the door and looks up at the blond boy, "What are you doing up anyway?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips, "It's the middle of the night, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"We're usually up at this time, but you need to get back in your room. I'll get in a lot of trouble with Kaname-sama if he sees you out of your room," he says, glancing around worried.

Nicky blinks and opens her mouth to ask what he meant, but he shoves her back in her room and quickly closes the door. It was just too bad for him that Kaname had turned the corner right as he was shutting the door. Nicky sighs, walking back over to the bed and sitting down. _I wonder what he meant about getting in trouble with Kaname. What does he have to do with me?_ Nicky stares down at the floor, jumping a little when she hears the door open.

Kaname calmly walks into the room, looking over at Nicky. "Did a boy with blond hair come in here just a moment ago?" Kaname asks, walking over to Nicky.

Nicky shakes her head, figuring he meant the boy she just met, "No… actually I left and he was bringing me back." Nicky confesses looking down and surprising Kaname with her honesty. "Um, Kaname…" Nicky looks back up at him, "Is he in trouble?"

Kaname remains quiet for a moment pulling a chair over and sitting down, "Why would you ask that?"

"He said that if you saw me outside my room, he'd get in trouble and I was just curious," Nicky plays with a lock of hair, looking down.

Kaname sighs, "Aidou is the only other person who knows you are here. I asked him to help keep an eye on you. That includes making sure you stay in here and out of trouble."

"I didn't know that," Nicky says softly, "Is he in trouble?" When Kaname doesn't respond Nicky looks up at him, "Please don't be mad at him because of me. I promise I won't leave again."

Kaname gives a nods, "May I ask, why did you leave?"

"I was bored and I thought since it was so late that everyone else would be asleep, but he said that you're usually up this time... Why is that?" Nicky asks, cocking her head a bit.

"Back home in Japan we were all members of our school's night class. This is the time we are usually up," Kaname explains.

"Oh… So, does that mean I was keeping you up?" Nicky asks, feeling bad now.

Kaname shakes his head, "Not at all. I was up because I wanted to be, it has nothing to do with you." Nicky doesn't believe that for a moment, but she lets the subject drop. "Would you be happier if I brought you some books to read? That way you would have something to do."

Nicky smiles and nods, "That would be nice, thank you. Um, how long do you think I'll be here?"

"I'm not sure. Aidou was the one I sent out to get your clothes. He told me the roads were getting bad and since all the roads connected to this manor are dirt we'll have to wait until they dry a little."

Nicky nods, "Alright… "

"Is something wrong?" Kaname asks, leaning a little closer.

"Well… It's just that by now the school must have noticed I'm missing and they're probably really worried," Nicky says, playing with a lock of hair again, "Do you think I could call them in the morning to let them know I'm okay?"

"Of course, but you've only been here a day. How do you know they've noticed already?" Kaname asks, leaning back again.

"The school keeps track of the students through a student ID card. We use it to purchase meals at school and in town. If I haven't eaten all day they would have noticed," Nicky explains.

"I see," Kaname thinks for a moment. "You can call the school in the morning. For now you should get some more rest," Kaname says, standing. Nicky nods and Kaname leaves the room. Nicky sighs and lays back down. She wasn't really that tired, but she would do what Kaname told her to do and turns off the light.

Nicky eventually does fall back asleep and wakes the next morning to Kaname walking in with her breakfast. Nicky yawns and stretches, sitting up. "Good morning Kaname." Nicky says with a smile. She could hear that it was still raining out, but she didn't really mind.

Kaname gives her a small smile back, the first she has seen and sets the tray of food down on the table. Nicky gets up and grabs a set of clothes she had set out before going back to sleep the previous night. "I'll be right back," Nicky says, heading into the bathroom. Kaname waits patiently as Nicky dresses and walks back out. Nicky felt a lot better being fully clothed in front of Kaname.

The two of them eat breakfast together and afterwards Kaname gives her his cellphone to call her school. It was Monday now and she knew she was missing her classes. She'd have to work after school so she could catch up once she got back, but she wouldn't complain. She would rather do extra work than be dead. After a few rings the school's answering machine picks up.

"Hello, this is the Isis School for Girls. No one is able to take your call at the moment, but if you leave your name and a return number we will get back to you as soon as possible." Nicky silently listens to the recording, looking over at Kaname.

There was a beep and Nicky decides to leave a message, "Hello, this is Niccole Kinsley. I was just calling to let everyone know that I am safe and currently staying at my friend's home in the woods. Also, I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to get back to the school until the rain stops and the roads clear up. That's all, bye." Nicky hangs up and hands Kaname back his phone, sighing. "I got the answering machine. I just hope they didn't call my parents yet."

"Would you like to call your family and check?" Kaname asks offering the phone again.

"No, it's okay. If the school didn't tell them yet, it would only worry them. Besides, America if five house behind here so they are probably still sleeping and I don't want to run up you cell phone bill." Nicky says, shrugging. She really hoped the school hadn't called her parents yet. Her mom would freak out if she thought something had happened to her, even if she did put Jason above her.

Kaname nods, tucking his phone into his pocket asking, "What kind of books would you like?"

"Um…" Nicky thinks for a moment and names some authors she likes. "Kaname, since you said the others are awake at night do I still have to stay in here during the day?"

Kaname nods, "I don't want to take the chance."

"Alright," Nicky really wanted to ask if she was in any danger there, but she had a feeling Kaname would just make up something. Kaname hadn't given her any reason to suspect she was in danger, but what Aidou had told her gave her the impression she was.

Kaname takes their breakfast tray and heads for the door, "I'll be back in a little bit with some books." With that Kaname walks out, leaving Nicky alone. Nicky sighs and walks over to the window, pulling the curtains open. The rain had lightened to a drizzle but it was still really wet out so Nicky didn't think she would be heading back to school that day. Boredom aside, Nicky really wouldn't mind staying there for a bit longer. She really liked Kaname and would like to try and get to know him better.

She didn't even know how old he was, but he had to still be in school since he said they were on winter break. She would be starting winter break soon too. If she didn't get back to school during that week she'd have to make up her work over break. Nicky stares out the window, looking around. Since she couldn't see the garden or anything that looked like the front of the manor she assumed her room must have been on the side of the manor. Nicky sighs, a little disappointed. She wished she could have seen the garden.

Nicky looks back, hearing Kaname come back in. He had an arm full of books by her favorite author. Nicky smiles and walks over, taking some of the books. "Thank you," Nicky says, putting the books on the desk.

"You're welcome," Kaname says, setting down his stack as well. "Would you like anything else?"

Nicky shakes her head, smiling at Kaname, "Do you have any idea when the rain will clear up?"

"I'm afraid not," Kaname replies, "but I heard that it is supposed to last a couple days."

"I see," Nicky says, looking back towards the window. "I wish I could see the garden," Nicky says, wishfully.

Kaname glances over at the window, "If you'd like I could bring more flowers."

Nicky smiles again, "I'd like that."

Kaname nods, "If there is anything you need, please just ask. I want you to be as comfortable as possible."

Nicky nods then bites her lip, "Actually, would you mind staying for a little while? I'd just like some company."

"Of course," Kaname replies.

The two of them end up spending the rest of the morning together. They talk about a few things. Kaname asks Nicky about her childhood and her favorite things. Nicky talks about her father, how he had taken her and her mother on vacation to the beach almost every summer when she was little. She talks about her grandparents and their house out in the country and the horses they owned.

After lunch Nicky looks over at Kaname, "Can I ask you some questions now? You know so much about me, but I barely know anything about you."

Kaname thinks for a moment, "I guess. Just know, there are some things I can't talk about." He didn't know why, but Kaname felt he could actually be honest with this girl, within reason of course.

"Alright," Nicky says, understanding. She thinks for a moment, "Well, what are your parents like?"

"My parents were good people. They were very kind," Kaname answers.

"Were?" Nicky asks.

Kaname nods, "Yes. They passed away ten years ago." Nicky gives a small gasp. She felt horrible now, after everything she did about her parents, she had no idea he had lost his.

"I… I'm so sorry," Nicky says, looking down, "And after all the complaining I did about my mom and Jason…"

"It's alright, I don't mind. Actually, I'm glad you opened up to me. Most people try to keep their distance. I'm glad you're so comfortable around me," Kaname says, giving Nicky another small smile.

Nicky blushes and smiles back, "Um… So, what about siblings? Do you have any?"

Kaname thinks for a moment before responding, "Actually, I have one, a younger sister. She was only five when our parents passed and she doesn't remember anything before the night they died though. She only has memories from after they passed. She doesn't even know we are related."

"That's horrible, have you ever tried to tell her?" Nicky asks.

Kaname shakes his head, "No, I don't want her to know yet. No one has any idea we are related."

"Oh… So you want me to keep this a secret?" Nicky asks and Kaname nods. Nicky feels really happy that Kaname trusts her enough to tell her such a big secret. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Nicky promises.

Kaname smiles, "I know, I trust you." Nicky's heart skips a beat and she blushes again smiling.

They continue talking all day. Nicky asks about his school and favorite vacation spots. Kaname tells her as much as he could without telling her about vampires. They talked about a lot of things that day, learning a lot about one another. After they have dinner Kaname eventually asks Nicky what she's planning to do on her winter break.

"I'm not sure," Nicky says, shrugging, "since I'll probably have to stay at the school while everyone else goes home."

Kaname thinks for a bit, "Would you like to come back to Japan with me?"

Nicky stares at him, shocked, "Um, I'm not sure. I might need that time to catch up on any work I missed while here. If I can I would really like to."

Kaname nods, "We'll have to wait and see then." Nicky smiles, she really would like to go to Japan. She loves everything about Japanese culture and she thinks it would be really cool to see where Kaname goes to school. She'll have to stay in a hotel while Kaname is in class though.

"Oh, but I don't know Japanese," Nicky says, suddenly realizing that might be a problem since not everyone knows English.

"You'll have to stay near me so I can translate for you," Kaname offers.

Nicky nods, "Alright." She was so happy Kaname wanted to spend so much time with her. He was so kind.

Nicky yawns and Kaname chuckles, "Tired?" Nicky nods and Kaname stands, "I'll go so you can sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

Nicky nods, "Alright. Good night Kaname."

"Good night," Kaname waves back, walking out.

Nicky feels her heart pounding in her chest, this time it wasn't fear making her heart beat fast. Nicky realizes, as she takes a quick shower before bed, that she was falling for him. He was the first person to really listen to her, the first person she ever really opened up to and he was so kind. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing though. He lived in Japan while she was living in England. Well, at the moment at least. Nicky knew long distance relationships never really worked out. But that was getting way ahead of herself. She had no idea how he felt. Nicky tries her best to put that out of her head as she crawls into bed and shuts off the light. Nicky closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep.


	7. New Friends

****(Slight Yuri Warning! Just kissing, but still I had to warn you)

**Chapter 6 – New Friends**

It wasn't until Wednesday that Nicky was finally able to get back to school. By then Nicky knew, without a doubt that she had fallen for Kaname and hard. She still didn't know how he felt and she didn't want to ask. She was just happy being able to spend time with him. They had set up an arrangement: if Nicky was able to go with him back to Japan for winter break she would call him and let him know. They would then meet up in town. If not she would still call him and they would spend the day together in town before he has to go back without her.

Nicky was really hoping she'd be able to go with him, but as she walks in through the door Chrissie and her friends had locked her out of, she puts the thoughts out of her mind. Nicky stops when she sees Heather running over to her, "Niccole, thank goodness you're okay!"

Nicky stops and gives a small smile, "Uh, yeah. My friend was nice enough to let me stay with him."

Heather stops, "Him?... Uh, well you need to come with me. Headmistress Richards was worried sick." Nicky nods and follows Heather to the headmistress's office.

Miss Richards stands up as they walk in, "Niccole, it's such a relief to see you're okay. Would you mind telling us what happened?" she asks, motioning to a chair.

Nicky nods and sits down. She goes over what happened, confirming what Natalie had told them. She finishes with hearing a twig snap, seeing a flash of white then blacking out. The women notice the bandage around Nicky's neck and look at one another.

"Niccole… Your neck…" Miss Richards pauses, "What happened to it?"

Nicky stays quiet for a bit, "You already who don't you? There are rumors going around about girls getting attacked. That's why there is such a strict curfew."

The older women look at one another. Heather walks over to Nicky, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Would you show us?" Nicky nods and shows them her mostly healed bite marks before rewrapping her neck. Heather kneels down next to Nicky, "Niccole, you can't tell anyone what happened."

Nicky looks at the older woman, "Who would believe me?"

"You'd be surprised," Miss Richards says, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It would make the school look very bad if people knew about this. Do you understand?" Nicky nods, realizing they just wanted her to keep quiet to save the school's reputation. They didn't honestly care about her. "Good, thank you," Miss Richards gives Nicky a smile.

"What about Chrissie and the others? What are you going to do to them?" Nicky asks, looking between the two women.

"They have been put under house arrest until further notice," Miss Richards answers.

"That's it?" Nicky asks, "They tried to kill me and that's all you're doing?"

"Oh, no, no! Natalie told us they were just trying to scare you. She went out 15 minutes later to get you but you were gone," Heather explains.

"And you believed them?" Nicky demands, looking at her.

"Well, the security cameras showed that she did," Heather says, looking at Miss Richards

"That's because she's the only one with a conscience. They were trying to kill me. Leslie even stole my robe!" Nicky was really starting to get upset now.

"They were just trying to make it seem like that," Heather says, trying to calm her down.

"No they weren't!" Nicky stops hearing a knock on the door. She looks over to see Chrissie and her friends walk in. "You bitch!" Nicky runs over to Chrissie, slapping her as hard as she could in the face, causing her to fall over. "You tried to kill me! I thought you were my friend and you tried to kill me!" Heather runs over standing between the two girls. "All Because I didn't want to do your damn 'initiation' you tried to kill me!"

"That is enough!" Miss Richards shouts over Nicky, "Miss Kinsley, sit down!" Nicky sits down as Chrissie and the others also take their seats. "Now, I feel it would be appropriate for you girls to apologize to Niccole and you Miss Kinsley need to apologize to Chrissie. After that, I would like to try and put this whole thing behind us."

Chrissie glares at Nicky, "Fine, her first."

Nicky stands up again, "HELL no! After what they did they should get expelled, or at least suspended."

"Miss Kinsley, they have already explained what they were doing," Miss Richards starts.

"Either they get suspended or I call home and tell my parents about this. If my parents find out what they did to me, even if they weren't trying to actually kill me and I got attacked as a result and that you didn't do anything to punish them they will sue this school for everything it's worth! I could have easily been killed by whoever it was that attacked me!"

They hear Eli's voice outside the door shout, "Yeah!" Eli pokes her head in the door, "I agree with Nicky, they should get expelled!" All faces in the room turn to Eli.

Nicky stares at the strange girl with orange streaks in her hair, "Uh…"

"Sorry," Eli pulls her head out of the door, closing the door, but not latching it.

"Okay…" Nicky has completely lost her steam after the strange girl's outburst. Nicky looks back over at Miss Richards. She tries her best to explain things from her point of view, "You weren't there when they locked me out. They didn't have to leave me out there, I was already terrified. And before Leslie went back inside she said I 'should never have come here' before she went back inside. And Chrissie said 'you should have just done the initiation.' They were intending to leave me out there."

Miss Richards looks at Natalie, "Natalie is this true? Were you just covering up for the others?"

Nicky looks at Natalie, she was the one who went out to get her. Natalie looks at the others, glancing at Nicky before looking down, not answering. "There you go, that's as good as a confession," Nicky says, looking at Miss Richards.

"No it's not," Chrissie says, looking at Nicky.

"And I want to change rooms. I don't feel safe staying in the same room as Chrissie," Nicky says, crossing her arms.

"She can room with me!" Eli offers, popping her head back into the room. Nicky looks over at Eli again, wondering why she was offering this.

Nicky looks back at Miss Richards, "Suspend them or I'm going to my parents _and_ the school board, I will tell everyone who will listen what happened to me and that you did nothing to the girls responsible!"

"Are you trying to black mail this school Miss Kinsley?" Miss Richards demands.

"I'm just trying to get justice for what happened to me," Nicky says, removing her bandage and showing Chrissie and her friends the bite marks, causing all of them to gasp. "This is what you caused. I could have been killed and none of you even care."

"That's not true!" Natalie says standing up and walking over to Nicky, "When I realized what they were planning I went out immediately to get you!"

Nicky looks over at Miss Richards who looked shocked, "What else do you need? They tried to kill me, who knows what else they've done?" Natalie grows quiet when she realizes what she's just done.

Miss Richards slowly stands, "In light of this new information, I have no choice but to suspend you two." Miss Richards says, looking at Chrissie and Leslie, who both stand at the same time.

"What?" Leslie shouts, "Why does it matter, she's not even from this country!"

"What the hell does my nationality have to do with?" Nicky demands.

Leslie stays quiet and Nicky looks away, "Do you see? This is the kind of person you have going to this school."

Chrissie looks at Leslie, "Is that why? Because she's American is that you wanted to…"

"No…" Leslie says quietly, "It's because you started to like her better than me."

"What are you talking about?" Nicky asks, looking over.

"It's because she's so pretty, with long hair and everything… And that damn nightgown, I saw the way you looked at her!" Leslie accuses, turning to Chrissie, "You were falling for her, admit it!"

A loud "What?" came from Nicky, Eli and Sarah. Nicky sounded mildly disturbed, Eli sounded shocked, and Sarah sounded horrified.

"What? Of course not, you're the only person I like," Chrissie says, looking over at Leslie and giving her a smile.

Leslie shakes her head, "Then why were you ignoring me her whole first week? You were paying way more attention to her then you were to me!"

"She was new, I was trying to make her feel welcome," Chrissie explains.

"Liar! You were never that friendly with anyone else!" Leslie accuses.

"It's because she's my roommate," Chrissie says.

"Was, I _was_ your roommate," Nicky says, just wanting to straighten that part out. She was vastly enjoying this little 'lovers quarrel.'

"Leslie, you know you are the only girl for me," Chrissie says, taking her hand but she pulls away.

"Stop it, just stop it!" Leslie says, tears starting.

Nicky leans in close to Natalie, whispering, "Should we just slowly try to walk out?"

"No," Natalie replies, whispering as well, "It'll be over soon."

Chrissie grabs Leslie by the shoulders and kisses her, "You know I love you. No one will ever be able to take me away from you." Leslie hugs Chrissie, kissing her back.

Eli shutters and Nicky mumbles, "And so ends this episode of, 'Our Lesbian School Days.' Please tune in next week for our exciting conclusion." This earns giggles from Eli and Natalie. Luckily the two girls don't notice.

Miss Richards clears her throat and the two girls pull away. "Niccole, what do you think the appropriate punishment would be for these two?" It was obvious that Miss Richards was trying her hardest to hold back her discomfort.

"Suspension for a week and a call home to their parents. I suggest you start their suspension when we come back from break," Nicky suggests. She decided to go easy on the two of them. She knew she shouldn't, but she actually felt sorry for the girls. Miss Richards nods and excuses the other girls, keeping Chrissie and Leslie behind to call their parents.

Nicky sighs as she walks out of the room. Heather walks over and puts a hand on Nicky's shoulder, "Come on, let's go get your things. We can move them into Elizabeth's room."

"Yes!" Eli cheers as they head for Nicky's room. Nicky looks over at Eli as they walk to her room. Heather removes the name tags from the bedroom door as well as the bathroom door as Nicky packs up her things, glad to see her robe was there in the room and undamaged. It takes about half an hour to pack everything up and move Nicky's things into Eli's room. Nicky looks over at Eli as Heather leaves the room. "Uh, so how exactly are you involved in this whole thing?"

Eli grins, "Well, I noticed the first day you were gone that the Chris-Crew was acting weird and that you were gone. I kept an eye on them and noticed Natalie look over at the door near the gate. I went over and saw there was blood, but it started raining and washed the blood away. I was the one who told the Headmistress about it and told her they were acting weird. After that Richards found out the truth. If I hadn't told her, they would have never been caught!" Eli says, sounding proud.

Nicky chuckles, "Well, I guess I owe you a thank you. You really helped me out."

"No problem," Eli says, scratching the back of her head, "So uh, what happened to your neck?"

Nicky shows Eli the bite marks, "I think I was attacked by a vampire." Eli stares at Nicky's neck, mouth open.

"A….? Uh, do you want to go down and get dinner?" Eli says, changing the subject.

"Um, okay?" Nicky says, rewrapping her neck and the two head down to eat. Nicky sits with Eli and her punk looking friends. They were actually pretty cool and accepted Nicky with open arms once Eli tells them Nicky slapped Chrissie and they all cracked up when she told them what Nicky said during the kiss.

Eli's black haired friend laughs, "I always knew there was something weird between those two!"

"Yeah," Eli says, giggling.

Nicky laughs too, "Yeah, and Leslie actually thought Chrissie was falling for me." Nicky shutters, "I am straight, thank you. Not that there's anything wrong with same sex relationships or anything." They continue talking for a while until they all head back to their rooms and getting ready for bed.

"You know, I always knew you were different from the rest of them," Eli says, plopping down on her bed.

"Um, thanks," Nicky says, laying down on her own. Eli grins over at Nicky, shutting off the light and the both of them falling asleep.


	8. Discoveries

**Chapter 7 – Discoveries **

Nicky's first morning back was uneventful. Well, except for Eli's loud singing in the shower. Nicky couldn't help giggling as she listened to how off key the other girl was. Nicky hums along as she showers. She missed the huge shower back at the manor. Nicky chuckles at her own thoughts. While she was there she wanted to come back, now that she's back she wants to return to the manor. Isn't that how it always is though? Nicky finishes dressing before Eli and waits in the bedroom for her.

Nicky was not really looking forward to class. She was going to have to collect all of her missed assignments. There were also the questions from the other students that she was going to have to deal with. No one told them what happened to her and the Headmistress wanted to keep the whole thing with Chrissie quiet so she was going to have to make something up. Nicky sighs, thinking about this as Eli walks out of her bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Eli asks, walking over to her bed and slipping on her socks and shoes.

"Well, since the Headmistress wants to keep what happened between us, I'm not really sure what to say when people ask me where I've been," Nicky says, shrugging.

"Tell them it's none of their business," Eli says, tying her shoe lasses.

"What if they don't let it go?" Nicky asks.

"Tell them you don't want to talk about it and if they don't back off, tell me and I'll take care of it," Eli says, standing up.

Nicky chuckles, "Thank you Eli."

"No problem," Eli says, grinning, "Now, let's go eat."

Nicky chuckles, "Sure."

As the two of them head for the dining hall Eli asks, as casually as she could, "So… What's his name?"

"Huh?" Nicky asks, looking up at Eli, who was a good three inches taller.

"You know the guy you mentioned yesterday, the one who helped you?" Eli says, smirking a little.

Nicky blushes a little, "Um…" Eli giggles noticing Nicky's blush, which makes her blush even more. "I… don't want to talk about it?"

Eli rolls her eyes, "Fine. I'll pester you about it later." Eli winks as they walk over to the others. Nicky groans a little. She had a feeling this was only the beginning. Nicky takes a deep breath as she walks over to the others.

Toni smiles at Nicky, "Hey Nick, how'd you sleep?"

"I slept well," Nicky says smiling. Both Toni and Eli were also Americans and Nicky was really happy to be with people from her home country. She didn't mind the English girls, but she was glad to be with people she had really anything in common with.

"That's good," Toni says as they get their breakfast and head to their table. Unlike Chrissie's table which was in the center of the room, their table was off in a corner near a large wall length window. Nicky never really noticed how self-centered Chrissie and Leslie were until she looked at them form Eli and her friends point of view. "So, what are you planning for winter break Nicky?"

"Yeah, you going home to spent time with your parents?" Eli asks, looking over.

"Uh, no, my stepdad is taking my mom to Aspen. Their flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow while we're still in class and they won't get back for two weeks," Nicky explains.

"What?" Eli asks, shocked and angry, "So they won't even be home while you're supposed to be off?"

"Nope," Nicky takes a bite of her omelet.

"That is so messed up!" Toni says, "What the hell is wrong with them? Don't they realize the soonest they'll be able to see you again is spring break in three months?"

"Yeah, and I bet Jason is going to be taking my mom on another trip then too," Nicky says, rolling her eyes.

"Jason?" Eli asks.

"That's my stepdad's name. He was the one who decided to send me out here. I didn't even want to come here," Nicky sighs.

"Man that is messed up. He didn't even ask you if you wanted to come out here?" Toni asks.

"Nope, he just told me," Nicky rolls her eyes, "Because I wouldn't let him replace my real dad, he decided to get rid of me."

"That is so screwed up. You know what, forget him!" Eli says and Nicky chuckles.

"So, what are you just gonna hang out here for two weeks all by yourself?" Toni asks, looking sad.

"Actually…" Nicky blushes a little and looks away, "If I get all of my work caught up, I was invited to go on a trip."

"By who?" Toni asks.

"I think I know!" Eli says, snickering and Nicky blushes a little more.

"Who?" Toni asks again.

"The guy who helped her," Eli says, getting shushed by Nicky. "Oh, it's okay. I already told them about what Chrissie and her crew did."

"Wait, so you're going on a trip with a guy you've only known for what like 3 or 4 days?" Toni asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" Nicky looks away again still blushing.

"Oh my gosh, you like him?" Toni asks, leaning across the table and Nicky looks down, finishing up her food. "You do! You barely know this guy."

"We talked a lot while I was there," Nicky says, looking off to the side.

"What do you know about this guy?" Toni asks leaning back.

"Geese Toni, you're acting like you're her mom," Eli says, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just looking out for her," Toni says, shrugging, "After what happened with Chrissie I just thought you should be more careful."

"And I really appreciate that, but he was the one who found me out in the woods and took me in. He took care of me while I was weak after getting attacked and everything," Nicky explains, "I trust him."

"Awwww," Eli squeals, hugging Nicky, "That's so cute!" Toni chuckles at Eli's show of affection.

"Um, okay? We should probably get to class," Nicky says, patting Eli's arm. They all get up and after taking care of their dishes, head to their first class.

Nicky did get questioned by the other students, but she mainly told them she didn't want to talk about it. A couple times Eli was forced to threaten some of the girls and all Toni had to do was walk over and give them her 'look.' By lunch Nicky was really grateful to have Eli and Toni as friends. Nicky had gathered all of her missing morning assignments and she knew she'd have to work extra hard if she was going to be able to go with Kaname.

Nicky sighs as they sit down at their table and Toni looks over, "What's wrong?"

"Well," Nicky motions over to the stack of work, "I'm going to have to work really hard if I'm going to be able to leave for break."

Toni shrugs, "Maybe it'll be better if you just stay here and get your work done."

"Not going to happen, I am going with him," Nicky says, taking a bite of food.

Toni sighs, "Just think about it: most guys only want one thing and you don't know this guy that well. You should just think about it, okay?"

Nicky sighs, "Alright. I'll think about it." She already made her decision though. She was going to get her work done and go with Kaname.

Although, by the end of the day Nicky had more work then she thought and she wasn't really sure if she'd be able to go after all. She had started her morning work during lunch, but that was a very small amount. The first thing Nicky does after leaving her last class is head to her room to try and get some work done. The teachers told her that she had three days to get her work done because she was gone for three days though, so she was confident she would be able to get everything done.

Eli comes in around 5:50 to check on Nicky. "Hey Nicky, how are things going?" Eli asks, walking in.

"Good, I've got my work for tonight and half of my stuff for Monday done," Nicky says, looking over.

"Cool. Dinner is in ten minutes, so you better come down," Eli says, looking over Nicky's shoulder.

"Alright," Nicky closes her text book and they head down for dinner.

Dinner goes a lot like lunch. Toni keeps trying to get Nicky to rethink leaving and Nicky just humors her before heading back to her room to do more work. By dinner Friday Nicky has all of the work she missed finished. She sighs happily, sitting down at the table, "It's all done!"

"That's great. So you'll be able to go on vacation?" Eli asks, smiling.

Nicky giggles, "Yeah! I'm going to call him tonight to let him know I can go."

Toni sighs, not very happy, "Will you at least _think_ about not going? What if something happens? What if you get hurt?"

Nicky sighs, "Toni, I'll be okay, really. You worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough," Toni says shaking her head.

After dinner Nicky and Eli head up to their room. "So," Eli says, closing the door, "Will you at _least_ tell me his name? I mean, we _are_ roommates after all." Eli gives Nicky a big smile and Nicky sighs, sitting down on her bed.

"Fine… His name is Kaname," Nicky says, sitting back and crossing her legs.

"Kaname?" Eli asks, staring at Nicky. "…Oh thank god! I don't have to hide it anymore!" Nicky stares at Eli, not knowing what she was talking about. "If you know Kaname, that means you know about vampires!" Nicky opens her mouth to ask what Eli was talking about but the girl continues talking, "Well, I'm a vampire too!" she blurts out, pointing at herself, "Although, I'm surprised Kaname told you. I mean, he doesn't really like _anyone_. He must really like you!" Nicky blushes, "You know, Kaname's a pureblood, which means he's a really powerful vampire!"

"What are you talking about?" Nicky interrupts, really confused. _Kaname's a vampire? And so is Eli? What the hell is going on?_

Eli stares at Nicky, "Wait…You didn't know?"

"No, what are you talking about?" Nicky asks, staring.

"Uh… He…didn't tell you about vampires?" Eli asks, suddenly realizing she made a huge mistake. "I just thought… since you said you knew Kaname and that he was the one who wanted to take you on vacation, that he told you about vampires."

"No. He kind of left that part out while we were talking. He probably didn't want me to know," after saying it, Nicky realizes that it was true and it hurt a little knowing he was keeping something like that from her. Eli was shifting a bit, looking worried and awkward. "Eli… Sit down, and explain this to me."

"Um, well…" Eli sits down, "You see, vampire really exist. There are mostly vampires like me, ones that were turned by a pureblood. Then there are born vampires who have human blood in them that are weak, they are the commoners. Then there are the born vampires with less human blood in them who have some kind of power. They are considered nobles. Then there are purebloods. They are born and don't have a single drop of human blood anywhere in their family tree. They are considered royalty."

"Okay…So Kaname is royalty?" Nicky asks, looking up at Eli.

"Well, yeah," Eli says, crossing her legs as well.

Nicky thinks about what Eli said. "Do you really think Kaname likes me?" Nicky asks, blushing.

Eli laughs, "Well, he must! He asked you to go with him over break." Nicky giggles, blushing even more.

"How did you get turned?" Nicky asks, leaning back.

"I was bit by a pureblood. That's really the only way to become a vampire. But, if you get bit by a pureblood and turn, you _have_ to drink some of their blood. If you don't you eventually lose your mind and start attacking random people. I drank my creator's blood so I'm okay," Eli explains

"Wow… So, who do you think it was that attacked me?" Nicky asks, rubbing her neck. It was mostly healed, but there were still slight marks so she still wanted to keep her neck covered.

"I dunno," Eli shrugs, "Did you meet anyone else while there?"

"Just a blond guy named Aidou," Nicky says, shrugging.

"It was probably him," Eli says, "Wait, did Kaname actually introduce you to him?"

"No, it was after I left the room I was in," Nicky chuckles, "He said that if Kaname saw me out of the room, he would get in a lot of trouble. Later Kaname told me he was supposed to help keep an eye on me."

"Oh," Eli says, "Yeah that was probably part of his punishment." Eli snickers, "Aidou is always doing stuff to tick off Kaname, like asking people their blood type, biting people and not even trying to hide that he's a vampire. I was turned and I do it better!" Nicky looks over at Eli, raising her eyebrow, "Well, except for now."

Nicky chuckles, standing, "I have to go call Kaname."

"Alright," Eli says, falling back on her bed as Nicky walks out.

Nicky heads down to the phone, stepping into one of the booths and dialing Kaname's cell number. She waits a bit before he answers, "Kaname? It's Nicky."

"Oh, hello Nicky," Kaname says, sounding a little tired.

"Did I wake you?" Nicky asks, looking down at her hands.

She hears Kaname chuckle a bit, "No, actually I just woke up."

"Oh," Nicky chuckles nervously, "Um, I was just calling to see if I could still go with you to Japan." Nicky wasn't really sure if he still wanted her coming with him. After all, it has been a couple days and he might have changed his mind.

"Of course, were you able to get all of your work done?" Kaname asks through the phone.

"Yes," Nicky says smiling. She was really happy she'd be able to go with him. "I worked really hard to get everything done."

"That's good. Should I come pick you up at your school or is there somewhere you'd like to meet up?"

Nicky bites her lip and thinks, "Well, I haven't been into town yet, so could you pick me up here?"

"Sure. I'll come pick you up tomorrow. What time would you like me to come?"

"Oh, um… Could you come around 10:00?" Nicky asks.

"Alright, I'll see you then," Kaname says before hanging up.

Nicky smiles, hanging up and heading back to her room. She stops when she sees Eli talking to Toni. "Uh… Toni? Is something wrong?"

"No, actually Eli was just telling me she knows your guy… and I guess I can accept that you are going with him on vacation," Toni says, crossing her arms and leaning up against one of the desks.

"Thank you!" Nicky says, sighing, "I told you he was a good guy."

"The thing is," Toni starts and Nicky groans, "You have to take Eli with you."

"What?" Nicky asks, stunned.

"Yes, I want you to take Eli with you. Since she already knows the guy and everything, it shouldn't be a problem," Toni explains.

Nicky stares at her, stunned. She looks over at Eli who gave her a sheepish smile, "…I'm not asking," Nicky says, holding out the slip of paper Kaname had written his number on. Eli stares at the slip of paper. "I'm not asking him so you had better call him and ask."

Eli takes the slip and walks over to the door looking back and pausing, giving a "sad puppy" look. Nicky stares at her and Eli finally walks out. Nicky sighs and plops down on her bed. Toni looks down and moves to sit next to her, "You really like him, don't you?"

Nicky smiles, "Yeah, I do."

Toni sighs, "Just… just be careful, alright?" With that Toni walks out, leaving Nicky sitting there, confused again.


	9. Heading Out

**Chapter 8 – Heading Out **

The next morning Nicky wakes up around 7:45, still a good two hours before she has to leave. Nicky takes a quick shower and dresses in a cute warm outfit before going over to Eli and shaking her.

"Eli, it's time to get up," Nicky says, sighing when the other girl rolls over and pulls the covers up over her head.

"Five more minutes," Eli mumbles.

Nicky gets on Eli's bed and starts bouncing, "Wake up Eli! We still have to pack your things!" When Eli came back in the day before Nicky was surprised to hear that Kaname told Eli she could come as well. Nicky was both disappointed and happy. She was disappointed that it wouldn't be just the two of them, but happy that her friend could come along as well, since Eli was stuck at the school as well.

Eli rolls over and Nick hops down on her knees. "Come on, we still need to pack your things before we head down for breakfast," Nicky repeats before getting off the bed. Eli groans and gets up, scratching the back of her head, yawning.

"It's morning already?" Eli asks, looking towards the window. It was cloudy out at the moment and Eli sighs. Nicky waits patiently as her roommate heads into the bathroom to shower and dress. The two pack up some clothes for Eli then head down for breakfast. Nicky looks over to where Chrissie and her crew are sitting. Chrissie was sitting so she was facing Nicky and at the moment she was looking over.

Nicky looks away, back at her table. She had a feeling this break was going to be hell for Chrissie and Leslie and something was telling her they wouldn't be coming back at all after break. Nicky looks over at Eli, laughing at a bad joke she tells. Nicky smiles, knowing she was really lucky to have ended up becoming friends with Eli and Toni. The two of them were really great people.

Once they finish eating, Nicky and Eli stand and head out. Nicky looks over at Eli, "Do you think we should bring out bags down?" Nicky asks, looking over at her friend.

"I dunno, probably but where would we put them?" Eli asks, folding her arms behind her head.

"Maybe we should wait until 9:50, and then bring them down," Nicky suggests.

Eli shrugs, "Fine with me. You're the leader I'm just the quirky side kick."

Nicky laughs, looking over at her friend, "Quirky side kick? You've got to be kidding me!" Both girls get a good laugh as the head up to their room to wait until it's time to go.

The two make it down with their bags around 9:55. Nicky sighs looking at the sky, "We still have a few minutes…"

"Yep," Eli says, sitting down and folding her arms behind her head. Both girls look over as Chrissie and her group, minus Leslie, walks over. Eli stands back up and crosses her arms across her chest. "What do you want?" Eli demands.

Chrissie stops, looking up at Eli who stood around 5 foot 7 inches. "Um… I just wanted to talk to Nicky for a moment…" Chrissie says, looking nervous.

Eli glares down at the shorter girl, "Then talk. Just make it quick, our ride is going to show up soon."

"I was _hoping_ to talk to Nicky alone," Chrissie says, putting her hand on her hip to try and look casual to the groups of girls looking over at them. Her face told a different story though.

"It's alright Eli, it'll only take a second," Nicky says, looking up at her friend and walking out of earshot with the other girls but making sure she could still see her friend. "Now, what is this about?" Nicky asks, looking at Chrissie.

Chrissie sighs, "Well… I just wanted to say sorry… about, you know, what happened." The others mumble their agreements.

Nicky knew Sarah and Alison probably didn't know what was going on and she knew Natalie was genuinely sorry about all of this, but she had a feeling Chrissie was just apologizing to cover her ass. She knew she shouldn't forgive Chrissie so easily, but she didn't really want to start some kind of feud with her. It was easier to just say she forgave Chrissie and secretly hate her. Nicky nods, "Apology accepted."

Chrissie sighs in relief, "Great. So um, what are you doing for break?"

Nicky opens her mouth but she stops when she sees Chrissie's eyes widen. She jumps when she feels a tap on her shoulder. Nicky looks back, surprised to see Kaname standing behind her. Kaname glances at Chrissie then down at Nicky, "Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yes," Nicky says, glancing back at Chrissie, "Could you just give me a moment?" Kaname nods and walks back over to Eli who looked like she was trying really hard to hold back laughter.

Nicky turns to Chrissie, a small smirk on her lips, "_That_ was the guy who saved me. He's also a friend of Eli's. We're going to go spend the holidays with him." Nicky watches Chrissie's jaw drop, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction before turning and walking over to Eli and Kaname. "I'm ready now," Nicky says, smiling.

Kaname takes their bags over to a sleek black car that was waiting for them. The three climb into the car and the driver leaves the school grounds. Kaname looks down at Nicky, who was sitting on his right. "Eli told me those were the girls who locked you out."

"Except for Leslie," Eli adds in.

"Why did you go over and talk to them?" Kaname asks.

Nicky looks up, glancing over at Eli who was on Kaname's other side. "Well, they wanted to apologize so I humored them. I made sure to stay in sight of Eli though, just in case," Nicky explains.

"Did you forgive them?" Kaname asks, taking the words right out of Eli's mouth.

"Not really, but I find it easier to tell just them I did. I don't want any more problems with them," Nicky explains, shrugging. For some reason, she got the feeling Kaname didn't approve of what she did. He doesn't say anything about it though. He just grows quiet as they drive along. Nicky tries to glance over at Eli, to see what the other girl thought, but with Kaname sitting between the two she couldn't see her friend. Nicky looks out the window and watches the land scape roll by.

After a while they pull up to a train station and Nicky looks up in confusion. _Aren't we supposed to be going to Japan? What the heck are we doing at an abandoned train station?_ Nicky looks over at Kaname and sees him and Eli exit out of the car. Nicky quietly exits the car as well, waiting for Eli to get her suit case before taking her bag out of the trunk. Nicky looks over at Kaname as he walks over to a few other people, one of them was the blond boy she had met, Aidou. She notices the brown haired girl look over at her and feels a slight chill. There was something…menacing about her. That and the slight glare she got wasn't really helping to ease her discomfort.

Nicky looks over at Eli, whispering as softly as she could, "Is it me, or is the brunette girl giving me a dirty look?"

Eli glances over at the girl before looking back at Nicky. She leans in close and whispers back, "Don't take it personally, Ruka has a thing for Kaname and she probably thinks your competition or something."

"Should I be worried?" Nicky asks, looking a little scared.

"Don't worry, she won't pull anything. Kaname is talking to them right now," Eli explains, giving Nicky a wink, "Besides, if she does think Kaname likes you then she wouldn't want to make Kaname mad by doing something to hurt you."

Nicky doesn't look completely convinced but she lets the subject drop. Nicky had a feeling she would have to stick close to Eli during the entire trip. Kaname looks back at the girls and motions them forward. Nicky follows Eli over to the group, half hiding behind her friend. Kaname looks at Nicky, raising an eyebrow and pulls her out from behind Eli. "Nicky, I'd like to introduce you to Kain, Ichijo, Ruka, Shiki, Rima and you've met Aidou," Kaname introduces the group, motioning to each person as he names them.

"Um… Hi, it's nice to meet all of you," Nicky gives a small, nervous smile. Aside from Ichijo, they didn't seem all that excited to see Nicky and Eli. Mostly they looked bored.

"It's nice to meet you Nicky-san," Ichijo says in English, moving forward to shake Nicky's hand. Nicky smiles and shakes the males' hand. Out of all of them, he seemed the most human. Nicky was a little confused by the 'san' part though. She glances over at Eli who chuckles a bit. She obviously wasn't surprised by Ichijo's enthusiasm.

"The train will be here soon. Follow me," Kaname says as they head over to the loading dock. Nicky follows quietly, walking beside Eli.

"Why did he call me san?" Nicky asks, whispering to Eli.

"It's a Japanese thing. An honorific they add to the end of the person's name," Eli explains, "It's more formal. The most familiar one is chan, then its san, and then kun. The most formal is sama, which is what they call Kaname. It means 'Lord.' Then there is senpai which is what you would call someone from a higher grade then you. Kohai for someone a grade below you." Nicky nods listening to Eli's explanation. "Then there is onii, which is a formal honorific for an older boy or big brother and onee for a girl. Sensei is for teachers…" Eli pauses to think and Nicky gives a nervous laugh. There were a lot of honorifics, it was a little confusing. "There are more, but those are the basics. If you know those you'll be fine."

"Wow… Japanese is a confusing language," Nicky says as they stand around waiting. She knew a lot about the Japanese culture, but nothing about the language so the honorifics confused her a bit.

Eli nods, "Yeah, but once you get the hang of it, it's not that hard to learn." Nicky nods silently.

Nicky looks over at Kaname who was currently talking to Ichijo. They obviously had a lot of respect for him and she could kind of understand them not liking her if they thought she was getting too close to him. Nicky feels another chill and looks over at Ruka who was glaring at her again. Nicky moves to stand on the other side of Eli, out of sight of the frightening girl. Did she really think of her as that big of a threat? She was only human after all, so she couldn't be that big of a threat… right?

Nicky jumps a little as a train slows to a stop in front of them. _But, I thought this place was abandoned._ Nicky glances up at Eli as the taller girl picks up her suit case. Nicky picks hers up as well as they all board the train. One thing was still bothering her though. Japan was an island, so how were they supposed to get there on a train? Nicky silently follows Eli as she walks down the hall.

Kaname pauses and looks back at Nicky and asks, "Is this your first train ride?" Nicky nods, "Alright, I should explain a few things to you then." Kaname walks over to Nicky, putting a hand on her back and guiding her to one of the cabins. "Since the ride will take some time, each of us has been assigned our own cabin to ride in." Kaname opens the door and shows Nicky into her cabin. It was a small room with a bunk on the far wall and two doors on the right side, "There is a blanket and pillow in the closet and a rest room through there," Kaname says, motioning to the two doors.

Nicky nods as she walks forward to put her bag on the small bed. Kaname shows Nicky back out of the room and over to the connecting car, "Through here is the meal car and on the other side is the entertainment car where we mostly relax." Nicky nods again and they hear the conductor come over the intercom.

"Attention passengers, we will be leaving the station in a moment. Please take your seats," the sound cuts off and Kaname looks back at Nicky, taking her back into her cabin.

"We'll head into the dining cabin in a moment," Kaname says, sitting down on the bed. Nicky nods and goes to sit down next to him. She feels her cheeks flush a bit and her heart beat a little faster. It felt a little awkward to be alone with Kaname in such a small room. As the train starts to move it lurches, causing Nicky to bump into Kaname. She looks up at the man blushing a little more and pulling back, embarrassed.

"Um, sorry," Nicky mumbles, looking down and trying to hide her red face.

Kaname chuckles softly, "It's fine." The two sit there for a while as the train begins to speed up. The awkward feeling grows as the silence stretches on for a few moments.

"Um… So how are we going to get to Japan?" Nicky asks, trying to break the silence.

"What do you mean?" Kaname asks, looking down at the younger girl.

"Well," Nicky looks up, "We can't really take a train across the ocean. So I was just wondering if we were going to travel by plane or boat."

Kaname chuckles again, "We are taking the train," Kaname pauses when he gets a confused look from Nicky, "There is a series of underground railways that connect all of the countries around the world. We are taking one of these railways back to Japan," Kaname explains.

"Oh," Nicky says, trying to understand. "If the world powers knew about this, it could be pretty dangerous."

Kaname nods, "You're right, but they are controlled by us vampires so it's fine." Nicky nods. Kaname pauses, "Eli told me about how she blurted out the truth to you. Are you sure you're not bothered by this?"

Nicky looks at Kaname, surprised, "Of course, I was really surprised when Eli just sort of blurted out that she was a vampire and what she said about you, but once she explained things it actually made a lot of sense."

Kaname gives a small smile, "So you're not bothered knowing that I'm a vampire?"

"Not at all," Nicky says, giving Kaname a smile, "I'm a little confused by the pureblood thing though."

Kaname nods, "Well, let me explain things to you. The vampires are ranked, levels A-E. Level E vampires are the lowest and weakest. They are the ones who were turned, but eventually lot their minds and start attacking humans. Then there are the level D vampires who were turned, but are still sane. Then level C, which are common. Level B vampires are the nobility and level A are the purebloods. They are the rarest and most powerful."

"I see," Nicky says, "Eli told me you are a pureblood. What are the others?"

"They are all level B," Kaname answers.

"I see, so you all are pretty important," Nicky says and Kaname gives a nod.

"That's why we are all going to the Cross Academy. We are trying to make peace between humans and vampires by showing that we can coexist peacefully," Kaname explains.

"That's wonderful! Do you really think our races will really be able to coexist?" Nicky asks.

"That's what we are striving for," Kaname says.

"Do you think one day you'll be able to tell humans about the existence of vampires?" Nicky asks, sounding hopeful.

"I really hope so," Kaname answers, "It would be nice not to hide anymore."

Nicky smiles, most people would think the vampires would be trying to enslave the human race or something, but what Kaname wanted was peace. It was really wonderful. "I really hope you're dream comes true."

Kaname gives Nicky a smile as the train moves into the tunnel to head underground.


	10. Train Ride

Author's Note: I have decided that while at Cross Academy Kaname will hold a small Christmas party for Nicky and Eli with Yuki and Zero also in attendance. While there Nicky is going to get caught under the Mistletoe with one of the people at the party. I just haven't decided who it's going to be! I'm leaving that up to you, my readers! Check my profile for a link to the poll. The winner will be announced on December 6th with name posted on my profile so keep an eye out for that! That is all~

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><p><strong>Chapter 9 – Train Ride<strong>

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><p>Nicky looks up at Kaname, her heart beating a little faster, the two of them were alone and the train cabin was so small. Suddenly the cabin door flies open and Eli barges in, a wide dopey smile on her face and a uniform in her hand. Nicky jumps shooting to her feet acting almost as if Eli had caught her and Kaname doing something naughty.<p>

"You!" Eli says, pointing at Nicky, "Put this on!" She shoves the uniform at her, pushing her towards the bathroom door. "And you," Eli looks over at Kaname, "Out!" Eli points towards the door she had come in through pausing before adding in a more subdued tone, "Please?" she gives Kaname a sheepish grin.

Nicky shakes her head, "What is this all about?" Nicky asks, looking over at Eli, who was also wearing a uniform.

"Well, since I'm wearing the boy's uniform, I wanted you to put on the girls," Eli explains, giving the shorter girl a wide eyed, puppy look. "It's the Cross Academy Day Class uniforms and I wanted a picture," Eli explains, holding up a digital camera.

Nicky glances over at Kaname who quietly stands and walks out of the room. Nicky groans, taking the uniform from her friend and walking into the bathroom. She wasn't really a fan of short skirts and didn't really want to put on the black outfit but she knew if she didn't Eli would not give her a moments peace the whole train ride. Nicky takes a deep breath and changes into the uniform. She liked the top but the hem on the skirt could use a few added inches. Well, that was her opinion at least.

"Happy?" Nicky asks as she exits the bathroom.

"Not yet," Eli says, passing her a different pair of socks and shoes, "Put these on and we can take our picture!"

Nicky stares down at the items her friend had given her before obediently sitting and putting them on. "Where did you even get these?" she asks, standing again, "And how did you know my sizes?"

"That's not really important," Eli says waving the questions away before pulling Nicky out of the small compartment. Nicky wasn't sure why, but something about the way Eli said that disturbed her a little. Though, she didn't have much time to dwell on the thought as Eli pulls Nicky to the blond boy, Aidou, and passes him the digital camera. "Here, take a picture of the two of us!" Eli says, grinning wide and pulling Nicky close. Aidou grumbles under his breath as he snaps a couple pictures of the two of them, Eli snatching the camera away a second later.

Nicky sighs, fidgeting a bit. She really didn't like how short the skirt was and wanted to change back into her own clothes but the frown on Eli's face told her she'd have to wait a bit longer. "What is this?" Eli demands, looking up from the camera screen, "You are horrible at taking pictures!"

Nicky glances at the picture before silently agreeing with Eli. It seemed the only thing Aidou got a picture of was their chests and at a weird angle too. Nicky was about to reprimand the boy but was cut off by Eli grabbing her arm and pulling her over to Ichijo. "Ichi-nii-sa~n," Eli asks, giving her puppy eyes, "Would you take a picture of us, please?"

"Why couldn't you ask me like that?" Aidou demands. Eli simply ignores him as Ichijo takes the camera and gives the girls a friendly smile.

"Of course," Ichijo says, waiting for them to get into position and snapping a picture.

"Thank you Ichi-nii!" Eli says, taking the camera and looking at the picture, satisfied.

"You're welcome," Ichijo replies before returning to the book he had been reading.

Nicky glances over and her friend shows her the picture. This one actually came out nicely. "So," Nicky says, shifting, "Can I go change back into my clothes now?"

"Huh? Why would you want to do that? You look cute!" Eli grins down at her friend.

Nicky tugs a bit on the hem of her skirt before replying, "It's just a little too short for me."

Eli pouts, "But our uniform skirts are short too and you wear those."

"Yes, but this is shorter," Nicky says, shifting again, "And I would really rather wear my own clothes. I wouldn't want to be mistaken for a Cross Academy student." Nicky laughs nervously but stops when she hears a scoff from Ruka. "I'm going to go change," Nicky mutters softly before hurrying back to her cabin.

Eli looks over at Ruka a little mad now. "What is your problem?" Eli asks angrily, putting her hands on her hips and glaring slightly.

Ruka looks up from her book, giving the girl a blank look. "What do you mean?" Ruka asks, innocently.

"You know what I mean! Why are you being so mean to Nicky?" Eli demands. She was beginning to lose what little patients she had with the girl. Eli has never really liked Ruka. Mainly because of her obsession with Kaname, which in Eli's opinion it was just sad and a little disturbing.

Back in her cabin Nicky looks down at herself. The uniform _was_ cute, but Nicky really didn't want someone mistaking her for a CA student and talking to her in Japanese since she didn't speak a word of it. That and Ruka's little… non-verbal comment. Why was she being so mean? She didn't do anything to the girl and really what did she have to be insecure about? Ruka was gorgeous and Nicky knew – well _thought_ – she couldn't compete with her. Nicky sighs heavily before moving to change out of the skirt.

As soon as the skirt hits the floor the cabin door opens up. Spinning around Nicky freezes, her face going a bright red when she spots Aidou standing in the door way with Ichijou and Kain standing behind him. Aidou's eyes automatically drop to Nicky's panties as Ichijou begins to panic, flailing his arms and grabbing Aidou by the face crying out, "Sorry, sorry! We thought you were done changing!" Kain turns his face away and quickly closes the cabin door. Nicky stands there frozen for a moment, completely humiliated as she realizes half of Kaname's friends have just seen her panties! Nicky runs into the bathroom to finish changing her clothes.

Back in the main cabin Eli walks out of the dining car to check on Nicky. She stops when she hears Aidou saying "She didn't really strike me as the kind to wear pink and frilly panties." Eli walks over to Aidou and glares up at the boy. "What the _hell _are you talking about?" she demands with her hands on her hips, "Did you do something to Nicky?"

"No, of course not!" Aidou says, getting defensive. "We were just going to see if Nicky wanted to join us for drinks."

Eli looks over at Kain who was looking away then over to Ichijou who had a slight blush on his face and was shifting a little uncomfortably. "What happened?" Eli crosses her arms, looking at the group.

"Um, w-well…" Ichijou scratches the back of his head, mumbling, "When we went to talk to Nicky she was still changing…"

"Okay, what happened?" Eli asks, raising an eyebrow. Surly Nicky changed in the bathroom, right?

"She was standing in the room with her skirt off," Kain explains. "It happened quickly so we didn't really see anything."

Eli's eye twitches visibly and she hits Aidou in the face before storming off to check on Nicky. "Wh-why the hell did she hit me?" Aidou demands holding his jaw.

"Probably because of what you said about Nicky's panties," Kain explains, walking away. Aidou pouts and mumbles that it wasn't his fault, following his cousin into the dinning cart again.

Instead of just walking in like the other three Eli knocks on the door before walking in. "Nicky?" Eli calls out, knocking on the closed bathroom door, "Are you okay?" She hears something but she can't quite make out the words. "I can't hear you. I'm coming in." Eli walks into the bathroom and sighs when she sees Nicky sitting on the toilet with her face buried in her hands. What little she could see of her friends face was still bright red. She kneels down next to her friend and puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I talked to the guys and they said they didn't see anything."

"Yes they did," Nicky mumbles, sounding depressed, "They were standing there looking at me for a few seconds. They _all_ saw my panties. Half of Kaname's friends have seen my panties!"

"…They _what_?" Both girls jump and look over towards the door where Kaname was standing with a calm expression on his face. Nicky's face goes an even darker shade of red and she ducks down behind Eli who stands up straight. "What happened and who saw?" Kaname asks in a calm voice, but there was a slight edge to it that Eli picked up on. _Could he be angry?_ Eli wonders, glancing back at Nicky before walking out of the bathroom and closing both that door as well as the cabin door.

She sits Kaname on the small bed in the room. "Look," Eli lowers her voice so Nicky won't hear, "I talked to the guys and they said they were just coming to see if Nicky would like to have a drink with them. She was changing and they saw her…" Eli trails off, scratching the back of her head, "They didn't mean to see anything and they left quickly, but Nicky is really embarrassed. I think it would be best if everyone just tried to act like nothing happened."

"Who walked in?" Kaname asks, crossing his arms. Eli shifts, a little uncomfortable.

"Well, one of them was Aidou," she didn't really care about him so it was easy to give the annoying man up but Ichijou was so sweet and innocent, she really didn't want to get him in trouble and she didn't have anything against Kain so she didn't want Kaname mad at him either. But she knew if she didn't tell the frightening Pure Blood _she_ would get in trouble with them. "There were two others, but please don't be mad at them. They really didn't mean it."

"Just tell me," Kaname says, getting a little annoyed, but hiding it.

"Kain and Ichijou," Eli finally gives up, lowering her head. "Like I said, they didn't mean it and Ichijou was really embarrassed! Please go easy on them." Kaname silently stands and walks out of the room, heading for the dining car. Eli pokes her head back into the bathroom where Nicky was still sitting on the toilet. "Um, I talked to Kaname and he's going to go have a talk with them guys. Everything is going to be okay." Nicky simply groans, covering her face again. Eli sighs walking in and putting her hand on Nicky's shoulder again. "Look this isn't a big deal, okay? It's not like they saw you completely naked or anything."

"My panties are see through," Nicky mumbles, "Sheer pink lace with frills along the edges."

Eli blinks, staring down at her friend, doing her best to hold back snickers. "That's bad, but still not as bad as being completely bottomless."

"Just go," Nicky mumbles. She only had one pair of panties like that, her "whore panties" as Jason had called them, but they were comfortable and Nicky liked the way the fabric felt against her skin. Still, they were… bad, and that was why she wanted to change out of the short skirt so quickly, so people _wouldn't_ see them. But now three boys have seen them and there was no way she could face any of them. At least not anytime soon that is. Nicky sighs and walks out of her bathroom, looking out the train window. It was dark with a flash of light every so often from lamps set up in the long tunnel. She wonders how much longer the ride would be, deciding to stay in her cabin until they reached their destination.

Nicky knew Ichijou didn't mean anything from what happened and probably didn't even look below her waist since he just didn't seem like the type to do such a thing. She couldn't really tell much about Kain from their brief meeting but he seemed okay. Then there was Aidou who she knew looked. He was going to say something about her choice in underwear, she just knew it, but maybe Kaname would convince him not too. Nicky groans again, thinking to herself. _Why couldn't it have been Kaname who had walked in? I actually _like_ him!_

Nicky sighs, laying on her back and thinking about Kaname. He was really sweet and though she knew it would be silly to think he was angry with the other boys, the thought of him getting jealous made her happy. Ruka wouldn't like that, but she could take her jealousy and shove it! Nicky chuckles at the thought of the girl's angry face, picturing her and Kaname arm in arm as the other girl stands in the back ground pissed off. Nicky lays there for a while until she hears someone knock on the door. She sits up and calls out for the person to come in. Nicky blushes slightly as Kaname walks in and takes a seat next to her.

"I spoke to the others," Kaname states calmly, "Aidou will be staying far away from you for the remainder of the trip and the other two are genuinely sorry for making you uncomfortable. Ichijou wanted to assure you that he didn't see anything."

"I know," Nicky says softly, "He doesn't really seem like the type." The room grows quiet for a moment. Nicky looks up at Kaname and asks, "Um, are you angry with them for seeing my…"

Kaname takes a moment before answering, "They should know better than to walk into a room before knocking. Especially if they know the person inside is changing. I'm disappointed in them." Nicky couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't mad but it wasn't like they were dating or anything, so why would he be? Kaname stands and walks towards the cabin door. "If there is any way I can make you more comfortable, please let me know," Kaname says back before walking out and closing the door behind him. Nicky smiles to herself. It was nice to know he cared at all, even if she was a little disappointed.


	11. Cross Academy

**Chapter 10 – Cross Academy**

After that horrible incident the rest of the train ride was uneventful. Nicky mostly stayed in her cabin and Eli was very attentive. Also, Ichijou stopped by to apologize for what happened and to again assure her he didn't see anything. Nicky accepted his apology and the boy hurried away. He had kept his eyes down or to the side the entire time so Nicky couldn't help the feeling that he may have actually seen something and just saying he didn't. Nicky didn't ask and did her best to try and forget the whole incident. Luckily for her the train ride finally came to an end and as the exit the train it was just growing dark in Japan.

Nicky looks around them, holding on to her bag as Eli grins next to her. "So, what do you think?" Eli asks, looking down at her friend.

"Well," Nicky rubs the back of her neck. They were in another abandoned train station, similar to the one back in England. Only, here the signs were in Japanese instead of in English.

"It'll look better once we reach the school," Eli assures as they walk over to a line of three cars. Nicky opens her mouth to ask about it, but realizes that all of them won't fit in one car. Nicky was glad to see that she, Kaname and Eli were riding together again. She still wasn't comfortable around Aidou, Kain or Ichijou and Ruka was still acting a little hostile so she didn't want to ride with her either.

Nicky sighs as she settles in for the long car ride over to Cross Academy. She watches out the car window as the scenery rolls by. Between the train station and Cross Academy they pass through a town. Nicky perks up a bit, looking out at a few shops and eateries. She has always wanted to try authentic Japanese food and maybe buy some clothes. Nicky still had the money her parents have sent her over the last three weeks since leaving home and she would love to buy some souvenirs to send back to her parents. Nicky smiles, wondering how they would react to finding out that Nicky spent Christmas and New Years in Japan.

Nicky smiles when she imagines her mother's face. If Kathy was going to go have fun, then so was she! Nicky jumps a little when Kaname suddenly taps her on the shoulder. "We're almost there," he says, motioning towards a school surrounded by a wall. It reminded Nicky a little of her and Eli's school.

Nicky was glad to finally be out of the car after a nearly two hour long ride from the train station. Stretching, Nicky looks around at the school. It really did look like the Isis Boarding School. _Strange…_ Nicky looks back to see the other cars pulling up as well while Eli gets their bags out of the trunk of their car.

"So, where are we staying?" Eli asks, looking over at Kaname.

"I spoke to Headmaster Cross yesterday and he said you could both stay with him. He has his own building separate from the student dorms," Kaname explains, "For now we have to head back to the Moon Dorms. Eli, you have been here before, so I'm sure you can show Nicky to the Headmaster's office. To start off, he would like to speak with the two of you. After that I'm sure he'll have either of the 'School Guardians,' Yuki or Zero, show you around the school grounds."

"Okay, so we'll head there first then," Nicky says, looking over at her friend who was grinning in an almost evil manner. Kaname nods at the girls as he and the rest of the vampires head off to their dorms. Nicky follows Eli as she begins heading towards the main school building where Cross currently was. "So," Nicky says, earning Eli's attention, "Why are you smiling like that?"

"What do you mean?" Eli asks, looking as innocent as she possibly could.

"The way you were grinning, I know you are planning something," Nicky crosses her arms, hanging her duffle bag off her shoulder.

Eli does her best to fight back a smirk, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please don't cause any trouble," Nicky asks with a sigh, knowing Eli was probably going to ignore her pleas and do whatever she wants.

Once inside the two soon come to a pair of large double doors. Pausing, Eli knocks and the two hear a man's voice telling them to come in. Walking in, Nicky is caught off guard by the man sitting behind the desk. He was dressed in heavy clothes with a scarf wrapped around his neck and large glasses. "Welcome back Eli!" the man says, giving the girls a big, warm smile as he walks over to them and gives Eli a big hug.

"Hey Kaien!" Eli replies, hugging the man back before turning to Nicky, "Nicky, this is Headmaster, Kaien Cross. Kaien, this is Nicky." Eli introduces the two, stepping out of the way so Cross could get a better look at Nicky.

"It's nice to meet you Nicky, Kaname has told me so much about you!" Cross pulls Nicky into a hug as well. Nicky pats the man's back, a little uncomfortable with the sudden contact.

"Um, it's nice to meet you as well," Nicky replies, glancing over at Eli who could tell her friend was uncomfortable and loving it. "Kaname has told you about me?"

Cross nods, "Well, I'm sure you're both tired after your trip. Yuki, Zero," Cross calls out and two people wearing the day class uniform walk into the room. "These are the school guardians, Zero and my adorable daughter, Yuki!" Cross walks over to them and gives Yuki a hug. The girl just chuckles nervously, patting Cross on the arm. "They will show you to my home here on campus. After you have rested, Eli can show you around."

Nicky nods, giving the two students a smile while Eli rushes r=forward to grab onto Zero, giving him an unwanted hug. "Zero-chan!" Eli calls out as the boy struggles to escape the girl's grasp, "It's been so long!" The boy says something in Japanese that Nicky doesn't quite catch and Eli grins, responding in the same language.

"Um, what did they just say?" Nicky asks, looking over at Cross who was chuckling.

"Oh, Zero just said he didn't understand English and Eli repeated what she has said," Cross translates the conversation. He turns to Yuki and speaks to her for a moment and she nods. "Yuki is going to show you two to your rooms."

"Um, thank you," Nicky says, smiling at Yuki as adjusts the strap on her bag, it was starting to dig into her shoulder and she wanted to put it down. As the group walks out of the office Eli starts translating for the group so Nicky knows what's being said.

"So, where are you from?" Yuki asks, looking over at Nicky, "I already know Eli-san is from America."

"I'm from America too, but I go to the same school as Eli, in England," Nicky responds, speaking through Eli.

"That's nice, I'm sure it better to go to school with someone from the same country as you," Yuki smiles and Nicky nods. "Headmaster Cross told us you were a friend of Kaname-senpai?"

Nicky nods again, "Yes, he actually saved me when I was attacked outside school grounds. He's been very kind to me." When Eli translates the last sentence Zero scoffs, mumbling something. "Um, what did he say?"

Eli sighs heavily, "Nothing, but you should know Zero hates the Night Class, despises them really."

"Why?" Nicky asks, looking at Zero.

"Because he's a butt-munch," Eli says, matter-of-factly. Nicky giggles and Zero glares at Eli, asking what she assumed to was 'What did you say?' Eli just grins over at the boy and keeps walking.

About half way to Cross's home Zero stops, turning towards the others. "I have things I have to do," Eli translates for Zero who turns and begins walking away. Yuki nods and waves as Eli stares after Zero, quietly counting, "Five… Four… Three… Two…" that was when Eli takes off, running after Zero. The boy looks back then starts running as well, shouting back at Eli. Nicky and Yuki both nervous laugh before walking away. It was a little weird to be walking with Yuki since Nicky didn't speak Japanese and Yuki didn't speak English, but Nicky figured they didn't really need to be talking any more.

Arriving at the house Yuki lets Nicky inside and shows her to the room where her and Eli's beds have been set up. Nicky gives Yuki a smile as thanks and the girl gives her one in return, walking away. Nicky waves to Yuki from the window as the girl heads off to do whatever it is she does and Nicky decides to get changed for bed. It was another hour before Eli comes back to join Nicky who was already lying down.

"Had fun?" Nicky asks, looking over at her friend as she walks in, throwing her bag onto the free bed and begins rummaging through it.

"Tons!" Eli says, grinning, "Zero thought if he ran I would back off, but that only made harassing him even more fun!"

"Why are you so mean to him?" Nicky rolls onto her side, propping her head up on her hand.

"Because he makes it so easy," Eli replies snickering, "He has this deep hatred for vampires so he automatically doesn't like me, even though I was born human."

Nicky frowns, "Why does he hate vampires?"

"Well," Eli thinks for a bit, "he comes from a family of vampire hunters so it's probably genetic."

"I see…" Nicky looks down. That didn't really explain it though.

"Oh, and when he was a kid his family was attacked by a Pure Blood. His parents were killed, so that might be way too," Eli adds in, almost like an afterthought.

"Really? You think?" Nicky asks, sounding really sarcastic. That was most likely the reason why. Watching a vampire kill your parents would be a good excuse to hate all of them.

"What makes his hatred really funny though is that _he's_ a vampire too!" Eli laughs, finally finding her pajamas.

"Wait, he's a vampire?" Nicky asks, shocked.

"Yep," Eli walks into the bathroom to change, leaving the door open just a bit so they could still talk. "The Pure Blood that attacked his family turned him, only he _didn't_ drink her blood, so he's pretty much screwed."

"That's horrible," Nicky leans back against the headboard of her bed. She really felt sorry for Zero now, and to top it all off he was getting harassed by Eli. "Wait, if he's a vamp then why is he in the day class?"

"Because no one besides Yuki, Kaien, me and now you know. At least here that is. I'm sure the vampire hunters know about him but are keeping quiet about it," Eli walks out of the bathroom in deep red colored pajamas with little black bats printed on them.

"Wait, if no one else knows about this, how do you know?" Nicky asks, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Because, when I have free time I come here and stalk people," Eli replies, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal, "I know everything that goes on here at Cross Academy. How else would I be able to get away with messing with Ruka? I have dirt on everybody!"

Nicky chuckles nervously, glad to have Eli as a friend and _not_ an enemy. She could actually be kind of scary. "Either way," Nicky lies back down as Eli does the same, "I think you should go easy on Zero. It sounds like his life has been pretty bad so far." Eli sighs heavily, choosing not to answer. Instead she rolls onto her side, shutting off the light. Nicky quietly sighs, closing her eyes and falling asleep. Something told her she was going to have to keep a tight leash on Eli during their stay.

Over the next few days leading up to Christmas Eve Eli has run off, leaving Nicky alone at least four times. Poor Nicky, who had no idea where anything was on the school's grounds, would end up wandering around until a passing day class student found her and escorted her back to Cross's home. Nicky wasn't really sure if it was a good or bad thing that most of the students weren't there. It was still winter break for the Cross Academy students, but there was some still there studying for make-up tests as well as a few who had chosen to stay over break, so the school grounds weren't completely empty. Nicky didn't want to have to explain why she was there to a large amount of people so it was kind of a good thing most of the students were gone.

When not wandering around lost Nicky and Eli would head into town to check out the shops and a few diners. While there Nicky picked up a few souvenirs to send home to her parents and friends back in her home town. She also picked up a few gifts for Eli and the others, even Aidou (though his gift was a really girly novel so it was supposed to be funny). She had to take Eli's advice on most of the gifts since she didn't really know the others very well.

Nicky was happy to hear that Kaname was planning a little Christmas party for Nicky and Eli and he was even inviting Yuki and Zero. Something told Nicky Eli was planning something, but she really didn't have time to worry about that. When Kaname told Nicky about the party it was only three days before Christmas and the party was scheduled for Christmas day so they had a lot of preparation to do before then. Nicky had always been a skilled cook and while staying at CA Nicky cooked a few dinners for Cross so he suggested Nicky prepare the food. When asked by Kaname, Nicky eagerly agreed to do the cooking but she soon realized that might be a little easier said than done.

It seemed Aidou in particular had a large appetite and she wasn't really sure what vampires might like to eat. Again, Eli was a huge help. She went around and asked each party guest what they liked to eat so Nicky could work on a menu. It seemed everyone's tastes differed and they asked for foods Nicky had no idea how to cook. When not harassing Zero Eli helped taste test the foods Nicky experimented with cooking. By Christmas Eve Nicky had the menu decided and had learned how to make the foods everyone asked for, with a few creative touches to make them Nicky's own recipes.

Nicky made sure to prepare everything she could the day before the party so she wouldn't have to spend the entire morning in the kitchen. The party was scheduled for later that night, around 6:00 when the vampires of the group would have been awake for at least an hour. They would be having the party at Cross's house with the whole place decorated with a big tree in the main room where they would be having the party. Eli had gone around the night before dressed as an elf to collect everyone's presents so she could put them under the tree and Cross had even decided to dress up as (a much thinner) Santa while he passed out the presents to everyone.

On Christmas Eve Nicky sighed happily as she and Eli both lay down to go to sleep. "Excited for tomorrow?" Eli asks, lying on her side with her head propped up on her hand. That night Eli was wearing her black pajamas with red blood splatters on them and Nicky was wearing white and fluffy pajamas that were very warm.

Nicky nods over to her friend, "Yeah, I hope everyone likes my cooking."

"Of course they will!" Eli says with a smile, "You are a great cook! It takes some serious talent to make Japanese cuisine with without any experience _with_ an American twist. And if they don't like it, I'll hurt them!" Eli grins and Nicky chuckles.

"Good night Eli," Nicky says, closing her eyes.

"Night Nicky," Eli shuts off the lights and the two soon fall asleep.


	12. Mistletoe Mishap!

Author's Note: Wow, there was quite a turn out for the poll! By the time it closed 120 people had cast their vote! The results were: 1st place - Takuma Ichijou, 2nd Place - Kaname Kuran, and finally 3rd Place - Akatsuki Kain. Now, time for the latest chapter! Enjoy~ (Oh, and sorry if anyone seems OOC)

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><p><strong>Chapter 11 – Mistletoe Mishap!<strong>

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><p>The next morning Nicky woke up a little early. She didn't have to start making the food for the party until later so she decides to just lay in bed for a while, relaxing. When Nicky was a kid she would always wake up early on Christmas day. She would always go running down stairs to open her presents then her mom would make a huge breakfast (that she would have to help with so her mom wouldn't burn the food) and they would sit around enjoying their gifts. That was before her father died, after that things changed and Christmas slowly went downhill from there.<p>

The previous two Christmas's have been particularly bad so she was really grateful to Kaname for the party. It finally gave her a reason to get excited for Christmas again and she was really happy for that. And knowing she was going to be spending Christmas with Kaname made her the happiest. Her mother, her stepdad, Chrissie and her sadistic little friends, none of that mattered as long as Kaname was with her.

Nicky was startled out of her thoughts by Eli shooting up in bed screaming, "NOOO DON'T BURY ME SANTA!" Nicky jumps, staring over at her friend who was panting and looking around wide eyed with the expression of someone who was being chased.

"Eli, calm down!" Nicky moves to sit next to her friend as she slowly calms down. "It's okay, you're safe." Nicky speaks gently as she rubs Eli's back and the girl takes a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks," Eli smiles over at Nicky, a think sheen of sweat covering her forehead.

"Okay, now that you're calm, what the hell was that about?" Nicky asks, leaning back. Eli's face goes a bright red and she mumbles something under her breath. "What was that, Mumbles?" Nicky asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It's embarrassing!" Eli cries, laying down and pulling the blankets up over her head. Nicky sighs and sits there waiting for Eli to come back out. Eventually she peeks out from between the blankets. "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"No," Nicky replies crossing her legs.

"Okay," Eli sighs, sitting back up. "It happened a long time ago, back when I was a kid. I was only six years old and I admit I was small for my age and I guess that's why the guy didn't see me." Eli pauses, looking over at Nicky with her sad puppy eyes, hoping she wouldn't have to continues, but the look on the other girl's face told her she'd have to. "Well, my mom had taken me to see the Santa at the book store a few blocks from our house and I was waiting in a crowd of other kids. When the guy came in he had a huge bag over his shoulder. I ran over and he did that "Ho ho ho" laugh and swung the bag around and let go of it next to him. The thing was, I was under it."

Nicky stares at her friend, trying her best not to laugh as she imagined a tiny Eli stuck under a huge red bag with her feet sticking out one side kicking. "Ever since then I have been terrified by Santa. I mean, I was nearly smothered by his bag!" Nicky can't hold it back anymore and starts laughing hysterically, her eyes watering. "It's not funny!" Eli cries, ducking back under the covers with her face a bright red color.

"Oh, come on! That's funny!" Nicky says, still snickering, "Santa Clause is someone every child adores and you are terrified of him!"

"You can't tell anyone," Eli says through the covers, pointing a finger in Nicky's general direction, "If anyone found out about this I would be ruined! People fear me!"

"Calm down, I'm not going to tell anyone," Nicky assures, pulling the covers back so she could see her friend. "We should get dressed. We have a party to get ready for!" Nicky hops off the bed, grabbing the outfit she had bought for the party and walking into the bathroom. She had decided on a long white dress with a fitted waist and a red scarf and Eli was going to help Nicky fix up her hair in a cute way. Eli on the other hand was wearing a dark red suit even though Kaname had told them they were all going to be wearing white for the party. Kaname had come to expect this kind of behavior from Eli so he had already told Nicky not to worry about her friends' choice in color.

After getting dressed Nicky goes to make sure the decorations are perfect, and then heads off to finish making the food for the party. Nicky finishes the cooking early so she heads out to make sure everything was ready. There was still a good hour before the guests were scheduled to arrive so she was a little surprised to see Kaname was already there. "You're early," Nicky walks over, smiling up at the man.

"Headmaster Cross had things he had to do, so he put me in charge until he comes back. I wanted to come by early to make sure everything as okay," Kaname says with a small smile back, "The food smells delicious."

"Oh, thank you," Nicky blushes slightly, "I had to practice making some of the dishes but I think everything turned out well."

"It was nice of you to take requests," Kaname says making Nicky blush again, "Was it hard learning how to make some of the dishes?"

"Not really, Eli was a big help," Nicky rubs her back of her head remembering how Eli had tried the first few failed attempts.

"That's nice. Where is Eli?" Kaname asks, looking around.

"I saw her heading out a little earlier so I can only assume she's off harassing Zero," Nicky says with a shrug.

"So we're here alone?" Kaname asks, looking down at Nicky who blushes when she realizes that they were.

"I guess we are," Nicky says softly. Kaname smiles again, he couldn't help thinking how cute Nicky was when she blushed and acted shy around him. Though he couldn't really say it out loud, Kaname had realized on the train when the other three had walked in on Nicky that he had begun developing feeling for the blond girl and was glad to have some time alone with her.

Looking around Kaname asks, "Is there any mistletoe?"

Nicky blushes a slightly deeper red, "Um, no. I didn't really think it was appropriate since there aren't any couples here." Though, to be honest Nicky would have loved to get caught under the mistletoe with Kaname and finally get her first kiss, she didn't want to risk Aidou ambushing her or something like that. Though, she still had the feeling Eli was plotting something Nicky didn't want to let that ruin her evening. "Um, is there anything you'd like to do while we wait for the others to arrive?"

Kaname thinks for a moment before answering, "Well, we haven't really spent any time together the last few days, why don't you tell me what you've been up to lately."

"I haven't really been doing much," Nicky shrugs, taking a seat on the couch, "Eli and I went into town a few times and did a little shopping. I had to exchange my money first, but Cross did that for me."

Kaname takes a seat next to Nicky, "What did you buy?"

"Just some souvenirs to send to my friends and family back home. And I bought some presents for everyone," Nicky motions over to the tree where everyone's gifts were, "Eli had to help me pick out Shiki and Rima's gifts since I haven't really spent any time with them."

"Is that all you did?" Kaname asks, there was a lot to see in Japan for someone who was new to the country so he couldn't really imagine her just shopping.

"Um, I also hung out with Ichijou a bit. Other than that I spent a lot of time just wandering around school grounds," Nicky chuckles a bit, "Eli ran off to harass Zero a few times and I kept getting lost."

Kaname shakes his head, "That girl… she just left you?"

Nicky nervously chuckles again, "Well, she said she had to make up for lost time so I'm not really going to hold it against her. It wasn't like I wandered around all day or anything like that."

"Still," Kaname trails off, looking around.

"Um, I should get the food set out. The others will be arriving soon," Nicky stands and Kaname follows so he can help set things out. While getting things ready Nicky tells Kaname about the Christmas's from her childhood and how much the last couple years sucked. Kaname smiles and listens to Nicky talking about how happy she was to be having a party and how grateful she was to him for giving her a reason to get excited for Christmas. Kaname smiles at Nicky, "I'm glad you're happy. I thought that since you weren't able to spend Christmas with your family, this would at least give you some reason to get excited."

Nicky smiles, she really wanted to hug Kaname but a knock on the door drew her attention away. Walking over she answers the door. "Merry Christmas," Ichijou says with a smile, walking in followed by the other vampires.

"Merry Christmas," Nicky smiles back, "Where are Zero and Eli?"

Kaname walks over and translates Nicky's question to Yuki who laughs nervously, answering in Japanese. Kaname turns to Nicky, "It seems Zero was reluctant to attend the party. Eli went to get him."

Nicky chuckles, "I see. Well, until they arrive everyone please help yourself to the food and drinks."

"IOs there any Sake?" Aidou asks, grinning.

"No," Nicky says with a frown, "I wasn't really sure what the legal drinking age here in Japan was and I didn't want to give alcohol to Yuki if it was illegal."

Aidou sighs, mumbling something in Japanese as he tries some of the food. "… Wow, this is pretty good," Aidou looks over at Nicky, "Did you make this?"

"Of course, didn't Eli tell you I was cooking everything?" Nicky asks.

"Well, she mentioned it, but I didn't think you'd be able to cook our food this well," Aidou says, taking another bite of food and Nicky chuckles deciding to drop the subject. She was just glad he seemed to like her food. The others try the food and likewise compliment Nicky on her cooking. Nicky blushes a bit, thanking them. When first asked to cook she had wondered if she would have to put blood into the food, but luckily it turned out she didn't have to.

As the party starts everyone began talking and laughing. That is, until they heard something at the door. Walking over Nicky answers it again. This time it was Eli, dragging a very unhappy looking Zero behind her. Eli shouts something back at Zero before turning to Nicky and grinning, "Hey Nicky! Sorry I'm late, but Zero here didn't want to come."

Nicky chuckles nervously as Eli shoves the angry boy into the house. "What did you say to him?"

"I just told him not to fight me since I'm stronger," Eli says, shrugging and walking over to the food. Zero still looked unhappy and looking at the food he frowns. Eli rolls her eyes, turning to him and saying in Japanese, "It doesn't have any blood in it, you can eat it if you're hungry. Nicky cooked everything here." Instead of answering Zero slowly picks up one of the dumplings and takes a bite.

"Okay, so it _is_ edible," Zero mumbles and Eli grins. Nicky looks a little lost, but smiles seeing Zero eat her food. The next hour was spent talking and laughing with all of the party goers (even Zero) having fun. Nicky was so distracted by the stories Ichijou and Kaname were telling her that she didn't even notice Eli hanging up a bit of mistletoe in one of the doorways.

Around 8:00 Kaname looks down at his watch, "Cross should be back soon. He wanted to pick up a few things before he joined us." And as if on cue Cross comes bursting through the front door dressed as a skinny Santa with a red bag thrown over his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Cross calls out in both English and Japanese. Nicky smiles but Eli's yelp causes the whole room to turn to the now much paler girl.

"Oh god, NOOOO!" Eli screams, turning and running from the room in a wild panic still screaming, "No don't squish me!"

Everyone just stares after the girl as the room goes quiet, except for the soft Holiday music that was playing. The door swings closed behind Cross as he chuckles nervously. "What was all that about?" he asks nervously.

"Um," Nicky turns to the others, "I'm going to go check on Eli." Nicky hurries after her friend, going up to the room they had been sharing. "Eli?" Nicky calls out as she looks around the room, checking in the closet and under the beds. Eli was hiding under her own bed, wrapped in the fetal position on her side. "Are you okay?" Nicky asks. When Eli doesn't answer Nicky sighs, "Eli, it was just Cross in a costume. He doesn't even look like Santa. You're big and strong now, if anyone tried to hurt you, you could rip their throat out."

Eli seemed to have calmed down now and her face goes a little red, "I just made a complete ass of myself in front of everyone, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you should probably come down and try to redeem what little dignity you have left," Nicky says as Eli crawls out from under the bed.

"How am I going to explain this?" Eli asks, sighing.

"Do what you told me to do. Tell them it's none of their business," Nicky gives Eli a smile and the two girls had back down to rejoin the others. Eli got a few questions and weird looks but she just told them if they asked she punch their front teeth down the back of their throats. At one point she actually had to threaten Aidou with Zero's gun (which she had stolen from his room when she went to get him). After that they backed off.

Nicky just laughed nervously at her obviously annoyed friend as Cross passed out the presents to everyone. Cross had actually gone and gotten everyone customized scarves in their favorite color with their initials on them. The rest of the presents ranged from stationary to some more personal items. Nicky had gotten gifts from Kaname, Eli, Yuki and even Ichijou, Kain and (to Nicky's discomfort) Aidou who had gotten her more "appropriate" panties. Nicky wanted to shove them down the boy's throat but the look he got from Kaname let her know he would defend her honor later.

As the party was winding down Nicky decides to get more punch from the kitchen and Ichijou offers to help her with it. Nicky smiles and accepts his offer but as they go to head down the hall to the kitchen Eli tells them to stop for a moment. Standing in the door way the two turn back to look at Eli, confused.

Eli grins at them, "Look up." Eli points to the frame above the heads of the two and as they look up the two realize they were standing under the mistletoe Eli had hung up earlier. Nicky's face goes red and she looks over at Ichijou who looked just as embarrassed.

"Ah, no wait –" Ichijou tries to protest, raising his hands but Eli walks over shoving the boy's face into Nicky's. The room goes quiet again as the kiss goes on for a good ten seconds before Ichijou finally pulls back from Nicky. Both of their faces were a bright red and Ichijou stutters out something in Japanese before rushing out of the house, grabbing his coat on the way out. Nicky looks down, not quite sure how to react to what just happened. She can hear Aidou laughing shouting something that sounded like "Way to go Ichijou!" She turns and hurries from the room, into the kitchen.

Nicky could feel her heart pounding as she sets the punch bowl don on the counter. She hadn't really expected to get her first kiss that night so she didn't really know what to do with that. Nicky jumps slightly when she hears someone walking to kitchen behind her. Turning around Nicky sees Kaname closing the kitchen door.

"Are you alright?" he asks, sounding a little concerned.

Nicky nods, "Uh, y-yeah," she laughs nervously, "I just wasn't really expecting that."

Kaname frowns a bit, "Was that… your first kiss?" Nicky looks down embarrassed, nodding. The room goes quiet for a moment before Kaname does something that was just as surprising as Ichijou's action. He walks forward wrapping his left hand around Nicky's lower back with his right hand cradling the back of her head, pulling her into a kiss. Nicky was initially caught off guard by the sudden kiss. After a moment Nicky responds, kissing Kaname back while wrapping her arms around his neck.


	13. Aftermath

Author's Note: Okay, since I fail at knowing how Kaname would respond during an argument with his (unofficial) girlfriend I had to have a little help from my dear friend (and hopeful new editor *fingers crossed*) EditorKaiPie for this one. Well, just for the argument scene. Any way, enjoy the chapter!

PS. I _had_ to have them fight at least once. It helps make them a real couple! :3

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 – Aftermath<strong>

The rest of the night seemed to go by in a blur. Nicky was so happy to have been kissed by Kaname, even if she had been kissed by Ichijou first, and she had spent the rest of the night not really paying much attention. She hadn't even noticed when Yuki had suddenly left, but as she and Eli went to bed that night she looks over at her friend who was grinning evilly. Nicky sighs, lying on her side so she could look at her friend. "You know," Nicky starts getting Eli's attention, "I should, _should_ be mad at you for that whole 'mistletoe' thing."

Eli smiles sheepishly, "But?"

"But, I guess things ended up okay," Nicky says with a smile, "Though you didn't have to shove Ichijou at me. I think our teeth clinked together."

Eli laughs, grinning, "Giggity!" That makes Nicky laugh. "You know, if I hadn't pushed Ichi he wouldn't have gone through with it. He's sweet, but a total prude. You know, I think that was his first kiss too!"

Nicky blushes a bit, _So that was his first too?_ Nicky sighs, "Maybe he was saving his first kiss for someone special?"

"Maybe," Eli shrugs, "Or maybe he just needed a push."

Nicky rolls her eyes, lying on her back, "Um, why did Yuki take off early?"

Eli smirks again, "I'll tell you later." Nicky raises an eyebrow but lets the topic drop as the two fall asleep.

The next day Nicky could stop thinking about what had happened the night before. When Kaname had kissed her it had been so… passionate so… well, beyond words. Nicky could still feel his lips pressed against hers. Though Nicky couldn't stop thinking about Kaname's kiss, Ichijou kept popping into her head for some reason. She didn't really want to, but Nicky couldn't help thinking about Ichijou's kiss as well. His was softer, sweeter. His was different from Kaname's kiss, but still nice. Both of them had such soft lips… There was also the fact that Ichijou didn't pull away for so long and he _was_ her first kiss after all so it did make Ichijou's kiss special. Nicky could feel her heart beating faster as she thinks about the two kisses.

Nicky jumps a bit when Eli walks into the parlor where Nicky was currently sitting. "Hey Nicky," Eli says, smiling over at her friend. They were both wearing the scarves Cross had given them. "What are you thinking about?" Eli asks, sitting next to Nicky.

"Nothing," Nicky lies, looking back out the window at the snow that had just started to fall.

Eli pouts a bit, "Oh, c'mon! You were thinking about something, what was it?"

"Nothing, drop it," Nicky says, crossing her arms.

"Fine," Eli leans back, folding her arms behind her head, "So, who was the better kisser?" Eli asks, looking outside.

Nicky jumps a bit, blushing, "Wh-what?"

"Who was the better kisser?" Eli repeats, grinning.

"I'm not going to tell you something like that!" Nicky turns away, red faced. Eli laughs at her friends' obvious discomfort. "Besides," Nicky adds, "if you really want to know that you should just kiss them yourself to find out."

Eli snickers again, "Oh, no! I wouldn't want to make you jealous by kissing one of your boyfriends!"

"B-boy_friends_?" Nicky stutters, "What boy_friends_, I only like Kaname!"

"So you say, but you've been thinking about Ichijou's kiss too. Haven't you?" Eli asks, smirking deviously.

Nicky's eyes widen, "You were planning this from the start, weren't you?"

"Planning what?" Eli asks, innocently.

"You were planning to make Ichijou and me kiss!" Nicky accuses in a loud whisper. Eli simply grins in response. "You are evil," Nicky hisses.

"Why would that make me evil? It's not like you have feelings for Ichijou too, right?" Eli asks, "Even though, personally, I think Ichi is the better catch. He's nicer, adorable, sweet and not a douche. If he bites you you'll just bleed and _not_ turn into a vampire. And he doesn't need any special powers to be _awesome_."

Nicky is quiet for a moment before responding to Eli's little rant, "Wow that's… a lot of reasons to want me to be with Ichijou. But you know, Kaname isn't a 'douche.' He can be really sweet too." Eli snorts, rolling her eyes. "You just haven't seen that part of him because…"

Eli cuts Nicky off, "Because he doesn't want to get into _my_ pants."

"No!" Nicky blushes again, "It's because you annoy him."

"Yeah, whatever you got to tell yourself," Eli says, shrugging, "He's only nice to you and Yuki."

Nicky blinks, staring at Eli. Hearing that, Nicky couldn't help feeling a little jealous of the other girl. _Yuki…? Why would Kaname have an interest in Yuki? And why wouldn't he tell me about it?_ Finding out Kaname felt something for Yuki and knowing that the two of them went to the same school and could see one another when she had to return to England soon made Nicky really uncomfortable. _Maybe I'll ask Kaname about it later when we get a moment to ourselves._

But over the next few days Nicky never really got the chance to get Kaname alone. There was always someone there with them. It was either Eli who frankly couldn't take a hint, Kain who really didn't say much or even Cross who was constantly talking. There was a few times Yuki joined in their little group, but it was obvious neither girl was comfortable around the other. Nicky really didn't want to think there was something going on between the two of them, but from how Yuki looked at Kaname she could tell the girl had feelings for him as well with only fueled her jealousy.

By their final day at Cross Academy Nicky had finally found a moment alone with Kaname. Earlier the two of them had tea in the Moon Dorms with the others. Obviously Ruka had heard about the kiss and had sent Nicky glares the entire time, but now they were heading back to Cross's house. It was nice to walk, just the two of them. Nicky wanted to ask about Yuki, but she was so nervous she couldn't actually bring herself to say anything.

When they were almost to Cross's house Kaname stops walking, putting a hand on Nicky's shoulder to stop her as well. Nicky looks up at the man, giving him a smile and asking, "Is something wrong?"

"I was just wondering about something," Kaname says calmly.

"Okay, you can ask me anything," Nicky says with a smile.

"Listen, I was simply wondering something that I would like you to be totally honest with," Kaname started, "Who is the better kisser? Ichijou or me?" Kaname asked, his face serious to show her he seriously wanted to know.

Nicky stares up at the man, stunned. "What?"

I'm just curious," Kaname says with an indifferent shrug.

"I…" Nicky shakes her head, "I don't really think that's appropriate."

"What do you mean? It's a simple question; who's kiss what better?" Kaname raises his eyebrow.

"It's not a simple question!" Nicky says, embarrassed and blushing, "You're asking me to compare your kiss to Ichijou's!"

"I don't really see why that's so bad," Kaname says, "All I'm asking is which one of us is the better kisser." Kamame asks as Nicky presses her lips together. "It's such a simple question, why is it so hard for you to answer?"

"Why do you need to know?" Nicky demands. When Kaname doesn't answer Nicky can see that Kaname is serious about this, is serious about her telling him who kisses better. What if she said Ichijou? Was he trying to just get something out of her so that they can break up? Maybe that was why he was asking… with these thoughts, Nicky starts getting upset. "Do you think I have feelings for Ichijou? Is that why you're asking?" Nicky expected Kaname to deny it, to say something like 'Of course not, that would be ridiculous.' Or something to confirm that he didn't just want some excuse to break up or some excuse to go after Ichijou. It wasn't as though she actually liked Ichijou like that anyway! But Kaname just remained quiet. "Why are you so insecure about my feelings? I care about you, not Ichijou!"

Kaname resists the urge to sigh as he adverts his eyes slightly, "I know what Eli thinks of me," Kaname says calmly, "I know she likes Ichijou more than I and would rather see you with him instead of me…" He says whilst Nicky clenches her fists, but he goes on, "And I know that what I girl's friend thinks affects how she feels."

"So you think I'm going to start liking Ichijou _just because_ Eli likes him more than you?" Nicky demands, "You know, I wasn't going to ask because I _trust you_ but what about Yuki?"

Kaname crosses his arms as his eyes narrows a little, "What about Yuki?"

"It's obvious she has feelings for you and Eli said you treat _both_ of us special," Nicky accuses, fighting back tears. "What is that about?"

Kaname remains quiet for a moment, "I don't I have to answer that."

"So you'll get on my case about a brief kiss with someone I barely know, but when I ask about your relationship with a girl who you go to school with that adores you, you don't have to answer?" Nicky clenches her fists tighter. She glares up at Kaname who kept a calm expression. "Why won't you tell me what's going on between you and Yuki?"

"It has nothing to do with you," Kaname answers quickly.

"Fine!" Nicky turns around quickly and starts walking away. She had to fight the urge to smack Kaname. He had no right to question her about a (_forced_) kiss that meant nothing while he has some adoring fan-girl on the side! Kaname reaches out, putting a hand on Nicky's shoulder to try and stop her, but as soon as he touches her she takes off running back to Cross's house. _We're leaving soon and he has to pick a fight now?_

Nicky runs up to her and Eli's room as the tears start flowing. She really didn't want anyone to see her crying, but after a few minutes Eli walks in. "Hey Nicky, you done packing?" Eli asks with a smile that quickly fades, "What's wrong?" Eli walks over to Nicky who was lying face down on the bed.

"Kaname and I had a fight," Nicky mumbles through the pillow.

"What did that jerk-off do now?" Eli asks, sounding a little angry.

"I don't want to talk about it," Nicky mumbles, sitting up. "I should finish packing." Nicky says with a sigh as she moves to finish putting her belongings in the new suitcase she had bought. Eli sighs, sitting on her bed. For once she was ready _before_ Nicky.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Eli asks, still concerned.

Nicky sighs again, "On the train." Eli nods in agreement as she helps Nicky pack.

On the train back to the Isis Boarding School the two girls head to the dining car to talk. As soon as Nicky sits down Eli start in with the questions, "So, what did you and Kaname argue about?"

"It was stupid," Nicky says with a sigh, "Kaname wanted to know who was the better kisser, him or Ichijou. I said I didn't want to answer that but Kaname didn't want to let it go. Then he insinuated that I had feelings for Ichijou!"

"Mm-hmm," Eli says, nodding quietly, "Go on."

"Well, when I said I only liked him he just went quiet. I mean I told him I had feelings for him and he just went quiet! The least he could have freakin' done was say he liked me back but he just stayed quiet!" Nicky starts getting upset again.

"That was a dick move on his part, but go on," Eli says.

"Well, then I asked him about his thing with Yuki, saying that I saw how she looked at him and what you said about him treating _both_ of us special and he said it didn't involve me. Can you believe that?" Nicky asks, feeling tear in her eyes again, "So he can get on my case about a kiss with someone I barely know that didn't even mean anything but when I ask him about his relationship with a girl that is obviously in love with him, he doesn't have to answer? How in the _hell _is that fair?"

Eli just shakes her head, "I told you Kaname was a douche. I'm telling you, you'd be way better off with Ichijou." Nicky sighs, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. She didn't want to think about that, but right now Ichijou was really looking better than Kaname. There was one major problem though. Ichijou was Kaname's best friend and Nicky really didn't want to be the one to get between the two of them. She knew their friendship must be strained already after the kiss on Christmas and she really didn't want to make anything worse.

Nicky thinks about the Christmas party and remembers something, "Hey Eli, why did Yuki run out during the Christmas party?"

"Oh yeah," Eli snickers, "When you and Kaname didn't come back Yuki went to check on you two and saw you making out." Nicky's blushes slightly when she hears this. She didn't think anyone had seen them kissing! "Yeah, when she came back out she looked kind of upset and made up some half assed excuse to head back to her dorm. I think she was about to cry too!" Eli starts laughing and Nicky starts to feel bad for Yuki.

"Now I feel bad," Nicky says, looking down guilty. She couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for Yuki to see the guy she likes kissing another woman. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

After Eli finishes snickering she thinks for a moment, "Well, Yuki has _no idea_ but Kaname is actually her older brother."

"What?" Nicky demands, shocked. Why the hell couldn't he have just told her that? He already mentioned a sister back when they had first met, so why couldn't he have just told her it was Yuki?

"Well, apparently for Pure Bloods it's common for brothers and sister to get married and have little inbred children in order to keep the blood line 'pure' or some crap like that," Eli explains, shuttering.

Nicky pales, thinking about just how disgusting it is for siblings to get married. "That's…" Nicky was at a loss for words. She could kind of understand why Kaname would want to keep that particular thing a secret but… "Wait, does that mean Kaname and Yuki are…"

"Yep, I heard the two of them were engaged, but when Yuki was young she lost her memories the night her parents died so she has no idea," Eli shrugs.

Nicky could feel herself getting angry again, "Then what the hell is he doing with me? If he's engaged then why is he…" By now Nicky was too angry to think. She had a brief thing with a boy back in middle school that ended when she saw him tongue kissing another girl (luckily before they kissed). She had been so upset back then and she had despised the girl more than anyone and realizing now that Kaname had made her the _other woman_ in his and Yuki's relationship.

"That's it I've had it with Kaname!" Nicky says, "When I was in middle school a boy I was seeing cheated on me and I swore I'd never be the other woman and now Kaname…" Nicky goes quiet again, tears in her eyes again.

"Oh, Nicky," Eli moves to sit next to Nicky, hugging her, "If it's any consolation, I think you and Kaname go together better than him and Yuki. It's defiantly healthier then the sibling love."

"Thanks, but it doesn't help," Nicky says quietly, wiping her eyes, "I don't think I'll be able to talk to Kaname for a while."

Eli rubs Nicky's back, "Well, at least we're heading back to school and you won't have to see Kaname again for a while. Not like Yuki who'll have to see Kaname every day and every time she sees him she'll be reminded of him kissing you." Eli snickers again and Nicky looks up at her.

"Why do you hate Yuki so much?" Nicky asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, she's just so annoying!" Eli says, "When it comes to Kaname she is such a push over! She so… so… She's in love with Kaname, but then she goes and messes with Zero!"

"But you mess with Zero," Nicky objects.

"Not like Yuki!" Eli says, "She's been leading him on, letting him bite her and a bunch of other crap and he's falling for her! But she doesn't like him back! I may harass Zero, but I'm not the one who's going to be hurting him in the long run!"

Nicky smiles up at Eli. She really was sweet deep down and she really did care about Zero, even if she tried to deny it! Though, something told her there was more to this than what Eli was letting on. "Thanks Eli," Nicky says, giving her friend a hug, "Talking to you has really made me feel better. Though, I still don't think I'll be talking to Kaname for a while."

Eli shrugs, "Whatever you want to do, I'll support you. I still think you should call Ichi though, just saying." Nicky chuckles, Eli really was a good friend.


	14. Back to School

**Chapter 13 – Back to School**

When Monday rolled around Nicky was happy to finally be back to school and away from all the drama back at Cross Academy. She had expected to see Chrissie in her first class, but when the girl was absent Nicky remembered that she had been suspended. She had managed to forget the whole incident while at Cross Academy, but being back now brought the whole thing back to mind.

Nicky sighs, glancing out the window while her classmate reads aloud from their text book. So much has happened over the last few weeks; being sent to a boarding school then what happened with Chrissie, finding out about vampires from her new roommate then traveling to Japan, and then finally her fight with Kaname. Nicky was just hoping to put everything behind her so she could finally focus on her school work and maybe, _maybe_ get some sense of normalcy back in her life.

At least the morning went by without any problems and at lunch everything seemed to be fine. The only thing that was different was Toni. She seemed to be more tired than usual. "Are you okay?" Nicky asks when Eli finally stops talking long enough to take a bite of food.

"Hm? Oh yeah, I just had a long weekend, that's all," Toni gives Nicky a tired smile.

"Really, what were you doing?" Eli asks with a mouth full of food.

"I was just doing some odd jobs in town. Don't worry about it," Toni waves the question away as she finishes her lunch.

Nicky blinks, _Odd jobs? What kind of odd jobs?_ "Just try to get some rest tonight, okay? We wouldn't want you falling asleep in class."

Toni chuckles, "Hey, weren't you telling me I sounded like your mom before you went off for break? Now you're starting to sound like the mother!" Nicky blushes as Eli and a few others at the table snickered.

As the giggles die down Nicky looks over at Natalie and the others sitting at Chrissie's usual table. She watches the girls for a moment when Natalie looks over at Nicky. She really didn't have anything against the girls after all it was Chrissie and Leslie who tried to kill her. Maybe she'll try talking to them later? It would be nice if she could bury the hatchet and possibly make friends with them. They weren't really bad girls, they just made some stupid mistakes.

"What are you looking at?" Eli asks, catching Nicky's attention.

"Um," Nicky looks back over at her friend, "I was just looking over at Chrissie's table."

"Why?" Toni asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No reason," Nicky shrugs, "I was just… I was just thinking about trying to talk to them."

"Why would you do something like that?" Eli demands, "After what they did to you?"

Nicky shrugs, "I was just hoping to maybe bury the hatchet with them. They really didn't mean it. Chrissie was the ring leader after all."

Eli shakes her head, "The only hatchet I'd bury would be in their heads." Eli doesn't look very pleased.

Nicky chuckles nervously, "Um, I just figure I could try and get past what happened everything would be better if I talked to them. When we hung out I actually liked them. They're not bad people, they just made some mistakes." Eli frowns, obviously not pleased by the thought of Nicky talking to the girls who had hurt her.

"I think you should do it," Toni says, earning a loud 'What' from Eli.

"You actually think Nicky should do this?" Eli slams her hands down on the table, "After what they did?"

"Eli calm down!" Nicky puts her hands on Eli's arm, "Why are you getting so upset over this?"

Eli frowns, looking down. "I have to get to class," Eli mumbles, getting up and walking away.

"Weird," Toni mumbles, watching their friend walk away, "I don't think I've ever seen Eli get this upset before. She must be really protective of you." Nicky looks down at her hands feeling a little guilty for having upset her friend, as Toni pats her on the shoulder, "We should get to class too." Nicky nods and the two head to class.

That afternoon when the students were released from their final class Nicky heads off to find Eli, she wanted to know why Eli had gotten so upset before. Nicky caught up with Eli outside on the way back to the dorm. "Eli!" Nicky shouts as she catches up to her friend. Eli looks back and gives a halfhearted wave.

"Why did you get so upset earlier?" Nicky asks, slightly out of breath.

Eli looks off to the side, shrugging, "It's just… you're the first human friend I've made since I got turned that I could actually talk to about the whole… you know." Eli starts walking again and the two head to the dorms. "I just don't feel comfortable talking to the guys back at Cross Academy about this stuff because they were never human and can't really relate. You're the only one I feel I can talk to."

Nicky smiles a little and gives Eli a hug, "Sorry I upset you!"

Eli cringes a little, patting Nicky on the back, "Yeah, yeah. I forgive you. I just don't want you to get hurt by those little twits again."

"I'll be careful," Nicky promises as they head up to their room. She sighs as they walk into their room and she throws herself down on her bed. Nicky gets her purse out of her nightstand and pulls out the new cell phone. She had gotten it as a present from 'Santa' that nobody would admit to getting for her. It already had a few contacts in it. It had both Cross's home and office numbers as well as Kaname and Ichijou's cell phone numbers.

Eli looks over at Nicky, seeing the new cell phone in her hand. "So, do you know who it's from?" Eli saw Nicky ask around at the party but no one said anything. She wondered if anyone had said anything afterwards.

"No," Nicky says with a sigh, "No one wanted to admit to it." Nicky looks over at Eli, "Do you have a cell phone?" Eli nods and gives Nicky her number which she adds to her contacts.

"That is such an awesome phone," Eli says as she adds Nicky's number to her contacts. Nicky had a slim, Japanese style flip phone while Eli had a larger American style phone.

Nicky grins, "Yeah, I love it! I've been playing with it a bit. It's already set to English and everything. It really was a thoughtful gift. Um, hey Eli, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Eli sits on her bed with her legs crossed. In addition to their regular uniform she wore pants under the skirt.

"I was just wondering how do you get blood?" Nicky asks, a little embarrassed, "I haven't actually seen you bite anyone or even drink anything red."

Eli laughs, pulling a small tin out of her pocket, "We have these," Eli tosses the tin over to Nicky.

She opens it to see a bunch of little red pills with some writing on it, "What are these?"

"They're blood tablets. They're a blood substitute, but they're not nearly as satisfying as real blood. And for some turned vampires it really hurts their stomachs, but not me. I'm just cool like that!"

Nicky stares at the small red dots, chuckling a little at Eli's bad joke before handing them back, "That must be really useful."

Eli nods, "Yeah, it takes the edge off. I haven't actually bit anyone since my creator so I don't really know what I'm missing out on."

Nicky thinks for a while, "So, do different blood types taste different? At least as far as you know?"

"Well, from what I heard they do taste different," Eli explains, "AB Positive is supposed to tastes the best out of the human blood. Then there is drinking the blood of the person you love and that's supposed to be really great or something. Then the blood of a Pure Blood is supposed to be like crack, but I don't really remember."

"Wow…" Nicky looks down, thinking about what Eli had said.

"So," Eli leans back casually, "what blood type are you?"

Nicky chuckles a bit, "Um, I'm AB Positive actually." Eli laughs and Nicky chuckles again. The night ends with the girls having dinner with Toni and finally going to bed. The next couple of days follow the same routine. Nicky had yet to approach Natalie and the other two, but she had plenty of time for that and she didn't want to get into any drama her first week back at school.

By Thursday Nicky was starting to think about talking to the three and that afternoon she had decided to go talk to them but when she went back to her room to drop her books off she heard her cell phone start ringing. Checking it she saw it was Ichijou's cell phone calling.

"Hello?" Nicky answers, glancing at her watch to check the time. It was about 4:10 in the afternoon.

"Hello, Nicky? It's Ichijou," the voice on the other line says, sounding a little nervous.

Nicky smiles, "I know, my phone already had your number in it. What time is it there?"

"Oh," Ichijou chuckles, "actually it's 1 in the morning here. We're on our lunch break right now so I had a few minutes. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing well," Nicky sits down on her bed.

"I… heard about your fight with Kaname-sama. I was just a little worried," Ichijou confesses.

"Aww, that's so sweet, Ichijou!" Nicky giggles a little, "I'm okay. Still angry with Kaname but okay."

There was a slight pause, "Why exactly are you angry with him? What did the two of you fight about?"

"I'd rather not say," Nicky feels herself blush a little, "and I'm sure he wouldn't want me talking about… _certain_ things that were said."

"I see," Nicky could hear the slight concern in Ichijou's voice. "You know," Ichijou drops his voice to a whisper, "Kaname is a very proud man. I haven't really heard of him arguing with someone before and I don't know for sure what he'll do, but if you want to make up with him you may have to make the first move."

Nicky sighs, "Yeah, Eli warned me about that, but right now I'm just not ready to forgive him. It's sweet of you to try talking to me about this though. You must really care about Kaname."

"Of course, Kaname and I are best friends," Ichijou says with a smile and Nicky get a guilty feeling again. "Kaname and I have known one another for a _very_ long time."

"Really?" Nicky asks, trying to imagine Kaname as a child.

"Yes, we were children when we first met!" Ichijou sounds excited, "We all have known each other for so long. Since we were high class we all spent a lot of time together; Kaname, Kain, Aidou, Ruka, Shiki, Rima and me. There weren't many other noble children so we only really had one another."

"Wow," Nicky chuckles, "I must be nice to have had friends for so long."

"It is," Ichijou agrees, "What about you? Do you have any long-time friends?"

Nicky pauses, "Not really. When I was young my family moved around a few times so I haven't really been in one place for that long. The longest I have had my friends have been for four years and those friends are back in America so keeping in touch has kind of been hard."

"I'm sorry," Ichijou says softly.

"It's okay, I have Eli and our other friend Toni here," Nicky smiles, "And after Christmas I kind of count you guys as friends as well." Mentally adding in '_Except for Ruka._'

"That's great, I'm glad you consider us friends," Ichijou says with a smile, "Oh, class is going to start soon, I have to go."

"Okay, well I won't have to go to bed for another five hours if you want to call again," Nicky says, standing up.

"Okay, I'll remember that! Well, bye for now," Ichijou says hanging up.

"Bye," Nicky hangs up as well, putting her phone in her jacket pocket. It really was so sweet how sincere Ichijou was. He really was the most human out of all of the vampires. Walking out of her room Nicky tries to remember what she was planning before Ichijou's call. Spotting Eli she remembers she was going to go talk to Natalie. Walking past she waves at Eli, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?" Eli asks, following.

Nicky sighs, "To talk to Natalie."

"Who?" Eli asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Chrissie's cousin," Nicky explains, earning a frown from Eli who stays quiet. She knew Nicky wanted to go talk to the girls and still didn't approve.

"Fine," Eli sighs, "but I'm coming with you to make sure you're safe."

Nicky looks over at Eli, raising an eyebrow, "I guess I can accept that, just don't try to freak them out, okay?"

"I'll try," Eli rolls her eyes, "but I'm not promising anything." Nicky sighs as they walk out into the cold, heading for the school library. There was a specific reading room where the group would hang out in.

"Hey," Nicky says, walking in through the open door and walking over to the girls. The room was small, but warm with a large plush couch pushed up against one wall. All three look over and go quiet. "Um, I just wanted to talk to you guys about what happened. I just wanted to let you guys know I don't blame you for what Chrissie and Leslie did and there are no hard feelings."

They look at one another before Sarah speaks up, "Then, why did you bring her?" She points over to Eli who was leaning up against the far wall.

"She insisted," Nicky says, glancing over at Eli, "It doesn't mean anything. After hanging out with you guys for a week, I can guess you didn't know what was going on."

Sarah and Alison nod. "Yeah," Alison says, pouting, "If I had known I wouldn't have agreed to it. Leslie said she just wanted to scare you. I'm a good girl!"

Eli rolls her eyes, but Nicky pats Alison on the head, "I know so no hard feelings?" Nicky looks around at the three girls who all nod in agreement. "Good!"

"Does this mean you forgive Chrissie as well?" Natalie asks, looking up at Nicky.

Eli scoffs and the girls glance over at her. "Actually," Nicky shifts a little, "I haven't really forgiven her, not completely, at least."

"What about Leslie?" Sarah asks.

Nicky sighs before answering, "I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive her. Chrissie at least tried to apologize, Leslie didn't even do that much." And something told her the whole thing was Leslie's idea in the first place.

"So," Alison pauses, "do you think we can be friends then?"

Nicky chuckles, "Maybe," Eli scoffs again, "it might be a problem when Chrissie and Leslie come back next week."

"That's right!" Alison says, "Their suspension ends Friday. I bet they won't be happy if we're friends with Nicky too." Sarah nods and Natalie sighs.

"Frankly," Natalie crosses her arms, "I don't think I want to be friends with Leslie anymore. If she can think up something like locking someone out, what else is she capable of?"

"You don't have to cut ties with them," Nicky says nervously, waving her hands, "I wouldn't want to get between you and your friends."

"It's okay," Sarah smiles, "Leslie has this stupid rule where we have to keep our hair short, I want to grow it out again so it's no big loss."

Nicky chuckles nervously, "Anyway, I should be going. I have homework. I'll see you guy later." Nicky waves at the girls as she leaves and they wave back. Eli follows close behind as they head back for the dorm.

"Are you serious about becoming friends with them?" Eli asks.

Nicky shrugs, "Why not? They didn't mean any harm or anything. I don't think they will want to be friends with me though. Chrissie and Leslie are their leaders and once they come back, the girls will go back to listening to them. Humans don't really change, at least not right away."

Eli sighs again, "Fine." Nicky smiles, as her phone rings again. Eli looks over at Nicky answers it, looking at the screen and smiling. "What is it?" Eli asks, walking closer.

"It's a text from Ichijou," Nicky shows Eli the message.

_Hey Nicky! I'm texting you in class! __XD_

_-"Nani?"_

Nicky chuckles again and Eli smiles. "That's so cute!" Eli says, looking over at Nicky, "Since when have you and Ichi been talking?" Eli had a sly smirk on her face.

"Since today, he called me to check in," Nicky rolls her eyes as she texts back:

**Heh, don't let the teacher catch you! I wouldn't want you to get your phone taken away~ =^.^=**

**- ;3  
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Nicky looks over at Eli who is still smirking, "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," Eli walks away and Nicky catches up.

"This doesn't mean anything!" Nicky says, "He's just being nice."

"Yeah sure," Eli turns away as they walk into the dorm.

Nicky sighs looking at Ichijou's response:

_I'm making sure the teacher doesn't see, don't worry. We already covered this, so I'm not missing anything! I'm kind of bored, what are you up to?_

_-"Nani?"_

Nicky smiles, heading to her room as she texts Ichijou, knowing she and Ichijou continue to text each other.

~In Japan, Cross Academy~

Ichijou continues to text Nicky under his desk, glancing up every so often to make sure the teacher isn't looking his way. One person was watching him though. Kaname had looked over when Ichijou had started texting and he was starting to get curious. He already had an idea of _who_ Ichijou might be texting and he was starting to get a little annoyed by the thought of Ichijou texting Nicky, though he didn't know for sure so he couldn't really do anything about it. If he just came out and told Ichijou he didn't want him texting Nicky he would seem like a really bad person and he didn't want that.

And if Nicky heard he told Ichijou not to contact her it would only give her another reason to be angry with him and that was the last thing he wanted. No, he would rather the two of them make up soon, before any damage is done to their relationship. Not that they really _had_ a relationship, right? Why did that though disturb him a little?


	15. Developments

**Chapter 14 – Developments**

For the next couple of days Nicky continues to both text Ichijou as well as talk to him over the phone. The two of them grow close quickly and Nicky feels like he is the only person she can talk to about Kaname. That wasn't the only thing they talked about though. Nicky and Ichijou talked a lot about their childhoods, what it was like growing up in their different environments. Nicky explains what had happened the night Kaname saved her and Ichijou confirms that it was indeed Aidou who had attacked her. When Nicky asks why she can't remember Ichijou explains about 'memory suppression' and how Kaname probably made it so she wouldn't remember.

Nicky was happy to have someone to talk to about more serious things. Eli was great, but she was more the type of person to crack jokes then help Nicky with anything serious. After a while Nicky could feel herself growing attached to Ichijou, he was almost like the big brother she always wanted. She was really happy to have Ichijou to talk to and Eli was thrilled this development. She was still crossing her finger, hoping the two would start dating.

One Sunday, about a month after the two had started talking, Nicky got a really strange text message from Ichijou:

_Hey Nicky, what are you wearing?_

_-"Nani?"_

Nicky just stared at the message for a while ash she started her laundry. "What in the…" Nicky mumbles to herself.

"Got another message from Ichi?" Eli asks, walking over. The two had decided to make Sunday their laundry day and would go down early in the morning so they could get the good washers.

"I…" Nicky blinks, looking at her friend, "I think Aidou has Ichijou's phone."

"What?" Eli looks at the message and starts laughing. Nicky gets another massage:

_I'm so sorry! Aidou took my phone and wouldn't give it back! That message wasn't from me, I swear!_

_-"Nani?"_

Nicky chuckles and messages him back:

**Don't worry, I kind of figured it was Aidou. You wouldn't ask something like that.**

**- ;3**

"Yeah, it was Aidou," Nicky says with a smile, "He took Ichijou's phone and wouldn't give it back."

"That was mean," Eli snickers, "Oh! You should get his number and start messaging him, but block your number so he doesn't know it's you! You can say all kinds of dirty stuff to him!"

Nicky blushes a bit, "I can't do that! I wouldn't know what to say! And what if he finds out it's me sending stuff to him? I don't want him thinking I'm a pervert or that I like him."

"Okay, ask Ichi for his number and I'll text him," Eli grins and Nicky chuckles again as he phone chimes, letting her know she has another message.

_Hey, Aidou and Kain want me to tell you and Eli 'Hi' since we figure she's with you._

_-"Nani?"_

Nicky smiles, "Aidou and Kain say hi."

"Huh?" Eli asks, cocking her head a bit.

"They told Ichijou to tell us hi," Nicky explains, texting Ichijou back.

"Hey, tell them I said Aidou is a hoe, say it! Say iiiit," Eli shakes Nicky's arm and she sighs.

"Fine," Nicky mumbles.

**Eli says Hi and says Aidou is a man whore. Her words, not mine.**

**- ;3**

~In Japan~

Ichijou chuckles and relay's the message. Aidou huffs, "Of course she'd say something like that. Eli is always so rude!"

Kain shrugs, "That's because Eli doesn't like you."

Aidou rolls his eyes, looking back at Ichijou, "How long have you and Nicky been messaging each other?"

"Well," Ichijou looks up from his half-finished text, "since about a week after she left. I called her and we started talking."

Aidou blinks, "So you've been talking to her for a month?"

"Yes, why?" Ichijou asks.

"No reason, just curious," Aidou shrugs.

~In London~

The two girls continue with their laundry, talking about class and what they want to do for Spring Break. Since Nicky _still_ wasn't talking to Kaname she didn't really feel comfortable going back to Cross Academy again so the two were talking about what else they could do. "You know, I haven't called home in a while. Maybe I'll call home and see what my mom has planned," Nicky says, realizing she hasn't contacted her mother since she heard her stepfather was taking her mother on vacation for Christmas.

"What if they have plans again?" Eli asks, folding her clothes as they finish drying.

Nicky shrugs, "I don't know, I'll probably just hang out here for that week."

"And I'll be here to keep you company," Eli says with a smile, "I still say it was a douche move for you stepdad – whatshisface – to take your mom on vacation for Christmas."

Nicky chuckles, picking up her laundry basket as the two girls head back to their rooms, "His name is Jason, and I agree. I really don't like him, but I have to admit I don't regret coming here."

Eli grins over at Nicky, "Could that possible be because of me?"

"Partially," Nicky chuckles again, "and because of everything that has happened since I came here. You know, learning about vampires, meeting Kaname and everyone and being able to go all the way to _Japan_. I could have never done any of that if I had stayed at my old school. So I guess I won't hold being send here against Jason."

"Aww, that's so nice!" Eli smiles as the two walk into their room to put their clothes away.

"Of course I won't tell _him_ that," Nicky smirks a little, "I'm going to let him think I'm still mad at him for sending me here."

Eli snickers, "Wow, I never knew you could be so spiteful."

Nicky blushes a little, "I'm not spiteful!"

Eli rolls her eyes as the two put their clothes away and make their beds with their fresh sheets. "What do you think Chrissie and Leslie are doing right now?" Eli asks as the two head down to lunch.

"Why?" Nicky asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, since you mentioned what happened I was just thinking about what those two twats did and all," Eli shrugs.

"Oh," Nicky sighs, "Well, I haven't really talked to them or anything since they got back from their suspension. Actually, I haven't talked to any of those guys since Chrissie and Leslie got back."

"So much for trying to make friends," Eli rolls her eyes. The two get their lunch and sit at their regular table.

"Hey, when are you going to call your mom?" Eli asks, taking a bite of her food.

Nicky shrugs, looking at her watch, "Well, it should be around seven in the morning right now. My mom would just be getting up. I might as well call her now." Nicky takes out her cell phone and dials her home phone number.

The phone rings for a bit before her mother finally answers, "Hello?" she asks, sounding a bit unsure. Eli mouths 'Put it on speaker' so Nicky does.

"Hi mom," Nicky says, "It's me."

"And this is her best friend Eli," Eli says with a smile.

"Um, hello?" Kathy sounds a bit confused, "Nicky sweetie how have you been. You haven't called us in so long I was worried."

"Yeah, sorry mom, I was kind of distracted," Nicky says, sounding a little guilty.

"Yeah, Nicky has been so busy talking to her boyfriend," Eli says grinning.

"Boyfriend?" Kathy says, shocked.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend," Nicky says, blushing, "And he's more like a brother to me than anything else."

"Uh, so… You've been having fun?" Kathy sounds unsure.

"Yeah," Nicky smiles, "So, do you and Jason have any plans for Spring Break? I know it's not for a while still, but I figured if I asked now there was less of a chance you'd have plans already."

"Actually, Jason and I were thinking about coming to visit you at school." Nicky could hear the smile in her mother's voice.

"That would be great!" Nicky looks over at Eli who currently had a mouth full of food, "I really want to see you and this way you and Jason can come see the school for yourselves."

"Yeah," Kathy pauses for a moment and Nicky takes that as a chance to eat a bite of food, "So, what did you do for Christmas?" Kathy finally asks.

"I went on a trip with Eli," Nicky says, taking a drink of her lemonade.

"That's great, where did you go?" Kathy asks.

"We went to Japan with some friends of mine," Eli answers for Nicky since she had taken another bite of food.

"Yeah, I bought some souvenirs for you guys, but I haven't really had a chance to send them," Nicky says, resting her arm on the table.

"Have you met anyone special? "Kathy asks, kind of suddenly.

Nicky blushes and Eli laughs, snatching away Nicky's phone, "Yeah, she has, but they're fighting right now."

"Hey!" Nicky tries reaching for her phone, but Eli moves out of her reach.

"Really?" Kathy sounds a bit surprised.

"Yeah, is it really that shocking? I mean, he picked the fight and everything," Eli says.

"No, no. It's not that," Kathy shakes her head a bit, "I'm just surprised Nicky actually found someone she likes. She was actually quite popular with the neighborhood boys, but she never seemed to like any of them back."

"That's because they just wanted to get into my pants," Nicky mumbles pouting, but her mother didn't seem to hear.

"There was always some boy showing up at our house, asking for Nicky, but she always turned them away," Kathy chuckles a bit, "Jason never really had a problem with that though. He has always been nervous about Nicky finding a boyfriend. Then again, what father wouldn't be!"

"He's not my father!" Nicky says, loud enough for her mother to hear. She pulls Eli closer so she wouldn't have to shout, "And he never wanted me to find a boyfriend because he was worried about me getting knocked-up while I was still living with you guys."

"That's not true!" Kathy sounds shocked that Nicky would say something like that. Nicky rolls her eyes. Kathy sighs, "Anyway, why are you and your boyfriend fighting?"

Nicky blushes a bit, "Well, on Christmas I got caught under the mistletoe with another guy. A few days later we were walking through the woods back to the house Eli and I were staying in and he stopped me and asked who was the better kisser, the other guy or him. I didn't want to say, because it was embarrassing and eventually it turned into a huge fight and I ended up storming off. I haven't really been able to talk to him since."

Kathy grows quiet for a bit, "Can you tell me more about your fight? Maybe I can help."

"I can't really talk about that here," Nicky says, "Right now Eli and I are having lunch and I would rather wait until we're back in our room before we talk about that."

"Okay sweetie, would you like to just call me back?" Eli snickers a bit when Kathy calls Nicky 'sweetie'.

Nicky glares a little at Eli, "Sure, I'll call back in a few minutes." The two say bye and hang up.

"Sweetie? I can't believe you mom still calls you stuff like that!" Eli laughs again.

Nicky blushes a bit, still glaring, "Oh, shut up." The two finish their lunch and head back up to their room so Nicky can call her mom back. "Hey, I'm back." Nicky says when the phone stops ringing.

"Nicky?" this time it was Jason who answered the phone, "Why haven't you called? Do you know how worried you mother has been?"

Nicky frowns, "Yeah, I called a little while ago to let her know I was okay. Look, I need to talk to my mom can you just give her the phone?"

"Not until you tell me why you haven't called for so long," Jason demands.

Nicky rolls her eyes and Eli finally snaps, "Douche! Just give her the phone!" Nicky jumps a bit, looking over at her friend.

"Who was that?" Jason sounds annoyed.

"That was my roommate, Eli. Just give mom the phone," Nicky turns away from Eli a bit.

"Fine," Jason's end of the line goes quiet for a bit.

"Hello?" Kathy answers.

"Hi mom," Nicky sounds a little annoyed.

"Sorry about that, sweetie. I was just putting the first load into the washer," Kathy says, laughing nervously.

"I hate your husband," Eli says, "He's such a jerk-off!"

"Eli! Let it go!" Nicky says, trying to hold back laughter.

Kathy laughs a bit, "Okay…? Anyway, are you going to tell me more about your fight?"

Nicky sighs, "Well, it started out with him wanting to know about the kiss and then I accused him of thinking I had feelings for the other guy, which I _don't_," Nicky looks over at Eli, meaningfully. "Anyway, he got quiet for a moment so I told him I didn't like the other guy like that and I even told him he was the one I cared about. Then he said that he knew a girl's friends affects how she feels and that he knew Eli didn't like him. By this point I was seriously getting upset so I asked him about a girl who I _know_ likes him and he was kind of close to. Instead of answering me he told me he didn't have to answer that and when I pressed he said his relationship with her had nothing to do with me!"

"He's a do~ouche," Eli says, stretching out the last word.

Nicky looks over at her friend, "Anyway, I ended up storming away from him because I was really upset."

"Wow…" Kathy goes quiet, "That sounds really… Did you ever find out what was going on between him and the other girl?"

"Yeah," Nicky sighs, "the two of them have a really… complicated relationship and that's probably why he didn't want to say anything."

"What do you mean complicated?" Kathy asks, sounding confused again.

"I can't really talk about it," Nicky says.

"Do you think he has feelings for the other girl as well?" Kathy asks.

"I'm not really sure. I mean, at the party he kissed me so I'm sure he likes me but…" Nicky goes quiet, "If he actually tries talking to me about what's going on and maybe apologizes for upsetting me, I'll probably forgive him but…"

"But?" Kathy asks.

"But he is a really proud person and multiple people have told me he probably won't make the first move to apologize," Nicky goes quiet again.

"He's a do~ouche~" Eli says again, "Ichijou is better~"

"Eli, let it go! I don't like him like that!" Nicky sighs.

"If you really like this guy," Kathy starts, catching the attention of both girls, "then I think you should try calling him. Tell him you're not ready to forgive him just yet, but that you want to give him a chance to defend himself."

Nicky smiles, "I'll think about it. Thanks mom."

"You're welcome," Kathy smiles, "And Eli?"

Eli moves forward, "Yeah?"

"If Nicky doesn't like this other guy, let it go," Kathy says with a sigh, "You can't force Nicky to have feelings for someone she doesn't."

Eli get quiet, blushing a bit and Nicky laughs, "Thanks mom!"

"No problem," Kathy smiles and the two hang up.

Nicky looks over at Eli who pouts a bit, "I will never give up!"

Nicky rolls her eyes, "Yeah, I didn't think that would work."

~Elsewhere in Japan~

It was about 10:00 at night and, since there was no class that day, the Night Class was hanging out around the Moon Dorms. Kaname was sitting in a room with a few others, having some tea and looking out one of the windows. It has been a month since their fight and he _still_ hasn't heard from Nicky. He wouldn't admit it, but it was seriously starting to bother him. He didn't think their fight was that bad, if it could even be called that. It was more like a light argument. Was she really that upset over their argument? Or was this somehow Eli's doing…?

Aidou walks into the room where Kaname was. Ruka, Rima and Shiki were also there. Rima and Shiki were both reading and Ruka was holding a book, but paying more attention to Kaname then to what she was reading. Aidou waves over at the other three before walking over to Kaname. "Good evening Kaname-sama," Aidou greets, but Kaname continues to stare out the window, not seeming to hear him. "Kaname-sama?" Aidou asks, sitting down near him.

The man looks over, blinking. "Do you need something?" Kaname asks, calmly.

"Uh, yeah," Aidou scratches the back of his head, nervously. It seemed Kaname has been acting strange lately. "I was just wondering if you have talked to Nicky lately?" Aidou asks, trying to lighten the subject. He figured if Ichijou was talking to her, she must have called Kaname, right?

Kaname blinks again, frowning just slightly, "No, she hasn't spoken to me since the day she and Eli left."

Aidou stares at Kaname for a moment, "What…? But she's been talking to Ichijou. She hasn't contacted you?" The air around Kaname seems to grow cold and Kaname tenses noticeably. The already quiet room seems to have grown silent. Aidou stands and takes a few steps back. Kaname calmly stands and leaves the room, deciding to speak to Ichijou about this. Aidou walks over to the door and watches Kaname walk away.

He turns back to the others, "Um, did I just screw over Ichijou?"

Ruka looked like she was about to snap, "You mean, this girl has been talking to Ichijou, while completely ignoring Kaname-sama?" It was obvious she was extremely angry about this, "How dare that girl insult Kaname-sama!"

Rima and Shiki look at one another before looking at Ruka. "They had a fight," Rima says calmly, "Maybe she has been seeking Ichijou's advice on what to do."

"That's still no excuse!" Ruka says before storming out of the room.

Kaname finds Ichijou in his room, where he was working on some last minute homework. Ichijou looks over at Kaname, giving him a smile that quickly fades. "Is there something wrong?" Ichijou asks, concerned.

"Aidou just told me you have been talking to Nicky. Is that true?" Kaname asks, a little too calm. Ichijou nods, for some reason he felt a little ashamed, though he didn't understand why. The room goes quiet for a bit before Kaname asks, "How long have you been talking to her?"

Ichijou blinks and stands up from his chair, "Well… about a week after she left, I called her to see if she was okay."

"Was that the only time?" Kaname remains scary calm.

"No," Ichijou shifts a bit, "we have been talking almost every day."

Kaname glares at Ichijou, "What have the two of you been talking about?"

Ichijou shrugs, "Well, we talk about a lot of things…" Ichijou was getting uncomfortable and was starting to get a little scared. There was nothing romantic between the two of them. Ichijou thought of the two as have a more brother-sister type of relationship. In fact, Ichijou thought of Nicky as a sort of adorable younger sister.

"I want you to stop talking to her. She and I have yet to reconcile what has happened between the two of us and I just do not see it appropriate that the two of you talk with each other," Kaname says with a stern face, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ichijou stares at Kaname, "You…" Ichijou slowly shakes his head a bit, "If I just stop talking to Nicky, it will upset her." Kaname remains quiet, not backing down. Ichijou thinks for a bit, "Nicky mentioned that her school is having a 'Spring Break' during the same time we are off between school years. Why don't you go visit her then?" Ichijou suggests with a nervous smile.

Kaname raises an eyebrow, "Exactly when is her break?"

Ichijou has to check a small calendar he had on his desk, "The first week of our break." Kaname wasn't really pleased Ichijou had Nicky's schedule written down, but at the moment it actually helped.

"Fine, I will go to see her. Until then I would still like you to stop contact with her," Kaname replies, turning and walking out of the room. Ichijou lets out a heavy sigh relieved Kaname seemed to have calmed down. Though, there was no way he was going to stop talking to Nicky, he knew he would have to be smarter about it.

~Back in England~

Nicky and Eli are in their room, laughing about a stupid joke Eli had made when the brunette suddenly stops, glancing around the room. "I sense a disturbance in the force," Eli says with a serious look on her face. Nicky stares at her friend, raising an eyebrow, a little worried about her friend. "I have to call Ichijou!" Eli jumps up from her bed, grabbing her phone and rushing into the bathroom. Nicky continues to stare after her friend, even more worried than before.


	16. Spring Break

**Chapter 15 – Spring Break**

Ichijou was sitting in his room, trying to think of a way to stay in touch with Nicky without letting Kaname know when his cell phone rings, making him jump. Looking at his phone, Ichijou recognizes Eli's number. With a sigh, he answers, "Hello Eli."

There is a pause, "You sound tired? Did something happen?" Eli asks, sounding a little worried.

Ichijou chuckles, "No, everything is fine."

"Then why did I sense a disturbance a little bit ago?" Eli asks. Ichijou goes quiet, before finally telling Eli what had happened. Eli swears in Spanish, "So you told him to come talk to Nicky?"

"Well…" Ichijou scratches the back of his head, "what else was I supposed to do? Kaname seemed really upset about it and…"

Eli cuts him off, "You _have_ to come with him!"

"I'm not sure he'd like that," Ichijou says, nervously.

"Then make up an excuse! Nicky's parents are coming!" Eli says, "Earlier, Nicky called home and her stepdad answered. He sounded like a total butt-munch! You have to come in case anything goes wrong! Think about Nicky; what if things go wrong with Kaname and they don't make up? And to have her parents here with her jerk-off stepdad would only make things worse! You know I'm no good with emotional stuff, she'll really need you if things go wrong. I'll probably only make her feel worse!" The line goes quiet for a while. "Ichi?"

Ichijou sighs, "You're right… I'll make up some excuse so Kaname will let me come… Are her parents really coming?"

"Yeah," Eli smiles a little, "And I'm sure when she hears you're coming, she'll be ecstatic." Eli hears a 'I have a what?' outside, "I have to go, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later," Ichijou hangs up and Eli exits the bathroom. Nicky was sitting on her bed, her face a slight shade of blue. Her cell phone was in one hand and it sounded like her mom was talking to her, but Eli couldn't really make out what she was saying.

Nicky blinks slowly, "And… he wants to come _with _you?" Eli sits on her own bed as Nicky continues to talk to her mom. "Why would he want to come, he doesn't even _know_ me… Okay… Fine, but I'm not promising _anything_, okay. If he turns out to be a jerk like his dad I will sick Eli on him." Eli can hear Kathy laughing on the other line. "Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Bye mom." Nicky hangs up, sighing.

"What was that about?" Eli asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Apparently I have a stepbrother," Eli stares at Nicky, "His mom just told him about me and my mom, so he wants to come with mom and Jason so he can meet me."

Eli bursts out laughing, "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Nicky stares at her. She didn't like how Eli said that, but she was afraid to ask. "What do you think he's like?" Eli asks excited.

Nicky shrugs, "Well, Jason is… well, you know. And I've never met his mom so I have no idea."

Eli snickers, "I hope he's gay!"

"What?" Nicky stares at her friend.

"I love gay guys! They're so much fun and it would make Kaname really uncomfortable!" Eli starts bouncing in her excitement.

Nicky continues to stare at Eli, even more confused, "What are you talking about? Kaname and this guy aren't going to meet. Or do you know something I don't?" Nicky stares at Eli, suspicious.

Eli blinks, stopping her bouncing, "No…"

Nicky only grows more suspicious, "What did you and Ichijou talk about?"

"Nothing! I was just asking is something happened over at Cross Academy!" Eli says getting defensive, "I just asked him if he'd be coming to visit for Spring Break and he said yes."

Nicky blinks, surprised, "Oh… Why didn't you say that to begin with?"

Eli shrugs, looking to the side, "I wanted to surprise you. I thought it would be good for him to visit since your parents were coming and everything."

Nicky sighs and smiles, "Alright, sorry, I'll let it go."

"Thank you," Eli sighs.

"Now, if only you'd let my love life go…" Nicky mumbles and looks away.

"Never!" Eli shouts and Nicky laughs again.

The next couple of weeks went by fast. Nicky talked to Ichijou less, but he told her it was because he had to study for finals so she didn't really mind. In fact, she actually talked to her mom more during that time. She let her mom know that she had a new cell phone and told her the number so they could call one another. Nicky was happy to be able to talk to her mom again, but one thing was bothering her. She really did want to call Kaname so the two of them could make up, but she just couldn't bring herself to call. Not after what Eli had told her at least.

About a week before Spring Break Nicky decides to wright Kaname a letter. Since she couldn't bring herself to actually talk to him she figured it would be best to just wright him a letter, that way she could get all of her thoughts down beforehand to avoid saying anything that might make things worse between them. Nicky would ask Ichijou to deliver it to Kaname when he left. If he still didn't call her after that, she would just assume Kaname didn't want to see her anymore and she would try to move on.

Though Nicky really wanted to make up with Kaname, she knew Eli would be against it so she had to wait until Eli left to meet up with Toni so she would have an hour alone to wright. Sitting down at her desk Nicky takes out a pencil and pad of paper so she could just get her ideas out as she starts writing.

_Dear Kaname,_

_I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for over reacting before and for blowing up at you like that. I was just feeling insecure because Yuki really seems to adore you, and since the two of you are able to see one another every day while we can only see each other on school breaks I was scared. Where I'm from long distance relationships never seem to work out._

_Also, I'm sorry I haven't called you yet, but I __have__ had my reasons __for not wanting to speak to you__. After we left I spoke to Eli and asked her about your connection to Yuki and she told me everything. I can't say I wasn't hurt when I found out the truth about your relationship with her. I had been in a similar situation when I was in middle school where I had been seeing a boy for a little while, but I __saw him doing much more than kissing another girl__ caught him with another girl and it really hurt me._

_Kaname, no matter how much I may like you, I cannot approve of what is going on here. __As long as you are engaged to Yuki, I cannot see you__. If you had been more honest with me from the start and actually explained to me what is going on I would have forgiven you much sooner, but as things are now I'm not sure I can. I want to give you a chance to explain things from your point of view. Though I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to forgive me for avoiding you and picking a fight, if you can somehow forgive me __please__ call me so we can talk about this._

_I really like you Kaname and I want to try and work things out. _

_Sincerely,_

_Nicky_

Nicky looks down at the letter she had written and quickly rewrites it so it looked neat. She folds up both the rough copy and the final letter, putting them in her desk so Eli wouldn't see them. She trusted Eli, but she really didn't want Eli to know she was trying to make up with Kaname. Lord only knew what the girl would do to try and keep her from sending the letter. Or maybe Eli would just mess with the letter, making it say mean things instead of what Nicky wrote, so when Nicky sent it she ruined Nicky's attempt to make up with Kaname… _I'll have to check the letter before I send it to make sure she hasn't done anything to it._

Nicky stands up from her desk and stretches. It was only Tuesday, so she'll have to hide the letter until Ichijou gets ready to leave. Nicky sighs again and looks over at the door when Eli and Toni walk in. "Hey girls," Nicky greets them, "All done with whatever you were doing?"

Toni chuckles, "We were at the library working on our book report. Not that Eli did much working." Toni sighs and Eli smiles sheepishly.

"Aww, don't be that way. You know I'm no good with books," Eli says, giving Toni her puppy eyes. Toni just rolls her eyes and goes to sit down on one of the beds. "So what were you doing up here alone?" Eli asks Nicky, smirking a bit.

"Nothing much," Nicky shrugs, "Just reading some romance novels." Nicky picks up a random book lying on her desk.

Eli cringes, "Okay then?" Nicky smiles and they move on to a different subject.

Over the next few days Nicky does her best not to think about Spring Break or Kaname. Just thinking about either of those seemed to make the day go by even slower. She was just happy to hear Ichijou was coming and could be there for her if things went badly with her family and new… brother?

When Friday finally rolled around Nicky was ecstatic to get out of class. The first thing she did was call her mother to see if she was still coming for spring break. Kathy answered the phone on the third ring. "Hello dear," Kathy greets.

"Hi mom, are you and Jason are still coming for break?" Nicky asks nervously.

"Of course!" Kathy says sounding excited, "Shaun is coming as well."

"Right, Jason's kid from his first marriage," Nicky sighs.

Kathy chuckles, "Oh, don't sound so disappointed. Shaun is a nice guy and I think you'll like him. He's actually been spending a lot of time here and has been helping me with a lot of the house work."

Nicky blinks, "Really? He's been doing all that?"

"Yeah, he's such a sweet boy. He actually asked if he can call me mom!" Kathy laughs.

"He… sounds great," Nicky looks over at Eli who raises an eyebrow, "I hope Jason is expecting me to start calling him 'dad' now."

Kathy chuckles nervously, "No, he's given up on that. Shaun even wants you to call him 'big brother,' it's so cute!" Nicky rolls her eyes, listening to her mother go on and on about adorable Shaun was and how he was like the son she had always wanted and how she was sure the two of them would get along.

Finally Nicky sighs, "Okay, okay I get it. I'll see you soon."

"Alright, see you soon sweetie," Kathy says happily as the two hang up.

Toni walks over to Nicky with Eli following close behind, "Hey Nicky," Toni greets, "Who was that?"

"My mom, I just wanted to make sure they were coming and she started talking about my stepbrother and wouldn't stop," Nicky rolls her eyes as the group heads back to their dorm.

Eli chuckles, "Seems like your mom really likes this boy."

Nicky shrugs, "Yeah, apparently he's 'adorable,' or something."

Eli smirks, "This is going to be really interesting~"

Nicky looks over at Eli, raising an eyebrow, something told her Eli was planning something. Shaking her head, Nicky tries to put that disturbing thought out of her mind. She was just excited to know that her mom was really coming to visit.

~Later in Japan, after Night Classes~

After heading back to the Moon Dorms Ichijou decides to finally go talk to Kaname about going to Nicky's school with him. Since he had told Eli he would visit her school he knew he would have to talk to Kaname about going with him. Ichijou didn't really want to have this conversation, since he wasn't all that sure how Kaname would react, he really didn't have much of a choice. With a sigh he heads to Kaname's room where the man was currently putting his school bag away.

"Kaname," Ichijou knocks on the door before walking in, "I was hoping we could talk."

Kaname looks over at Ichijou, nodding. The two head out to one of the sitting rooms so they could talk. After getting comfortable Kaname looks over at Ichijou, "What would you like to talk about?"

"Well," Ichijou scratches the back of his neck, "I was hoping to go with you to visit Nicky," Kaname raises an eyebrow and Ichijou quickly adds, "I was just thinking that if I came I could help you and Nicky start talking. Also, Eli called me a little bit ago and asked if I could come… She said that Nicky's parents are coming to visit and it might help if I came for emotional support…"

Kaname remains silent for a while. He wasn't exactly happy that Ichijou wanted to come since he still had yet to speak with Nicky, but Ichijou made some good points. Having Ichijou there would give him an incentive to try and talk to her sooner and if Nicky's parents were going to be there… "Alright, if you want to come, then I won't stop you," Kaname finally agrees, standing.

Ichijou smiles, standing as well, "Thank you, I'll go pack." Ichijou heads off to call Eli and let her know that he will indeed be coming.

~Next day, England, around Noon~

Nicky waited anxiously by the school's gates. Her mother had called two hours ago to let Nicky know their plain had landed and that, after dropping their things off at the hotel, they would be on their way to the school. Eli waited with Nicky while Toni had left earlier that morning to run errands in town. Ichijou wasn't supposed to arrive until later that afternoon and that only made Nicky more anxious. Glancing over at Eli Nicky smiles, "They should be here soon."

Eli nods, "So uh, what do your mom and what's-his-face look like?"

"Well," Nicky looks up, thinking, "My mom has short, curly brown hair and brown eyes. Jason has short black hair and green eyes and I have no idea what Shaun looks like."

Eli blinks, "So, where do you get your blond hair and blue eyes from?"

Nicky smiles, "My real dad." Eli blinks and the two look over to see a taxi driving up to the school. Nicky waits impatiently as the car pulls to a stop and her mother steps out of the car. Nicky runs over and gives her mother a hug. The woman was just under 5 foot 2 inches tall, just barely smaller then Nicky herself was. Eli smirks, seeing now where Nicky got her height from. Then Jason exits the car, followed by a boy with light, sandy brown hair and green eyes.

Nicky looks over and greets Jason before looking at Shaun who had a huge, happy smile on his face. "Um, hi?" Nicky scratches the back of her head.

Instead of saying hi Shaun launches himself at Nicky, grabbing her in a tight hug, "Oh my gosh! You're even cuter then I thought you'd be!" Nicky struggles a bit, caught off guard by the sudden affection. She looks over at Eli who was already cracking up.

"Shaun let the poor girl go," Jason sighs.

Shaun looks over at his father, "No! I never had a little sister before!"

"You won't have a little sister for much longer if you don't let her go," Eli points over to Nicky who was turning blue from lack of air.

"Oh my gosh!" Shaun loosens his grip and Nicky gasps for air, stumbling pack. Eli, who was still snickering, catches Nicky so she won't fall down. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I was holding you too tight!" Shaun panics a bit and Kathy chuckles nervously.

Kathy pats the boy on the shoulder and Nicky sighs, straightening up a bit, "You should be more careful Shaun, Nicky is very delicate."

Nicky blushes a bit, "That's not true, I'm just…"

Kathy smiles, "Why don't you show us around your school?"

"Fine," Nicky mumbles and starts her tour of the school. The whole time Shaun walked right next to Nicky with his arm locked around hers. Nicky wasn't exactly comfortable, but she decided to humor the boy. He really did seem like the innocent type and she see why her mother thought he was adorable. He was so… cheerful and energetic. As the tour comes to a close Nicky looks up at Shaun, "How old are you?"

Shaun gives Nicky a big smile, "I'm 22 years old!" Nicky stares up at him in disbelief. He seemed so much younger, she would have guessed on about 17, maybe 18 but not 22!

"That's… surprising. I had no idea you were that old," Nicky gives a small smile back. "Anyway, are you guys planning on checking out the town? I haven't really explored much so it would be nice to see things with everyone."

"Don't forget Ichi is coming," Eli chimes up.

"Oh! Right, he's supposed to be coming sometime this afternoon," Nicky chuckles a bit, embarrassed that she had forgotten.

"Who is… Ichi?" Jason asks, raising an eyebrow.

"He's my friend from Japan," Eli says, rolling her eyes.

Nicky smiles a little, "His name is Ichijou, we met a while back. He's supposed to be coming for a visit."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Kathy asks, "Wait, is he the same boy you told me about on the phone?"

"Yes, he's the one that's like an older brother to me," Nicky answers before Eli can say something that might make Jason hate Ichijou. Shaun blinks, looking a bit disappointed, though Nicky wasn't sure why.

"What about that boy you said you like?" Kathy asks, "Is he coming?"

"What boy?" Jason demands and Shaun looks just as surprised.

Nicky sighs, "Don't worry about, Jason. We're not talking right now so I don't think he'll be coming."

"Wait," Shaun shakes his head, "does this mean the guy you like lives in the same area as your friend Ichi-something?"

"His name is Ichijou, and yes. They both live in Japan," Nicky says, sighing.

"Japan?" Jason raises an eyebrow, "So they don't even live here in England?"

Eli snorts, "No duh, does Ichi's name sound English to you?"

Jason glares at Eli but Nicky quickly changes the subject, "Would you guys like to see our dorm room?"

Kathy nods and they all head out to the students dorms to see Nicky and Eli's room and Nicky pulls Eli closer, "Please try to get along with Jason. I don't want to provoke him, okay?" Eli rolls her eyes, but nods. Later, around three, Nicky heads out to wait for Ichijou with Eli, leaving her family to hang out around the school.


	17. Meet the Parents

****Author's Note: I'm so, so, so, _so_ sorry I haven't updated in so long guys! My muse abandoned me and it took so long to get idea's for this chapter but I'm back now and I'll try hard to update regularly again! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

PS. Vote in the poll I made! You can find it on my profile~

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><p><strong>Chapter 16 – Meet the Parents<strong>

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><p>Nicky sighs as she and Eli wait for Ichijou to arrive. He told Eli he would be arriving around 3:15-3:30 that afternoon so they still had a few minutes to wait. "I really hope Ichijou arrives soon," Nicky shifts from one foot to the other. Her parents were talking with a few of the teachers at the moment so they had a little while but Nicky still didn't want to be away from them for too long.<p>

"Oh, don't worry he should be here soon," Eli says with a chuckle, patting Nicky on the shoulder and giving her a big smile. Nicky gives her friend a smile back when suddenly someone runs into her and tightly hugged from behind, causing her to stumble forward a bit. Looking back, Nicky is a bit surprised to see Shaun smiling down at her.

Letting Nicky go, Shaun takes a step back, "Sorry, I just figured I'd wait with you since our parents are talking to your teachers."

"Oh, okay then," Nicky straightens her clothes.

"This might sound like a strange request, but would you mind calling me big brother?" Shaun asks a bit suddenly, sounding excited.

"Uh… Sure?" Nicky chuckles nervously, "I guess I can."

"Great!" Shaun claps his hands, smiling brightly.

"YOU'RE SO ADORABLE!" Eli gushes, hugging Shaun who chuckles. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask; are you gay?"

"Eli!" Nicky stares at her friend, shocked that she would ask someone she barely knows something so personal.

"Oh, it's okay hun," Shaun smiles over at Nicky, "I actually get that question a _lot_. The truth is I'm bisexual, but I do prefer men more to women."

"I knew it!" Eli grins proudly. "I was really hoping you'd be homosexual! This is going to be so much fun!"

"What are you talking about?" Nicky asks, looking at Eli while Shaun stands between the two girls smiling brightly.

"Oh, you'll see," Eli says with a sly smirk.

"See what?" Toni asks from behind the group, causing Nicky to jump.

"Ah, Toni! When did you get back?" Nicky asks, trying to stop her heart from beating out of her chest.

"About twenty minutes ago," Toni says with a shrug, looking over at Shaun. "Hi, I'm Toni. I'm a friend of Eli and Nicky."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Shaun, Nicky's brother," Shaun responds with a bright smile.

"Ah, right. Nicky mentioned you would be coming with her parents to visit," Toni gives Shaun a small smile back, shaking his hand. Nicky watches the two exchange greetings. She smiles, looking back towards the gate as a black car arrives, pulling to a stop a few meters away from the group.

"Ah! They're here!" Eli hops once, earning a look from the other three. _What does she mean, "they?"_ Nicky wonders, looking back towards the car as Ichijou gets out. "Hey Ichi!" Eli calls out, waving at the boy who waves back as Kaname exits the car from the other side.

Nicky stares at the man for a moment, blushing a bit before pulling Eli close and asking in a whisper, "You knew he was coming didn't you?" Eli grins, pulling back as a third person exits the car, surprising both girls.

As the group of boys walk over Eli narrows her eyes, "What is _he_ doing here?"

"Aw, don't be that way Eli!" Aidou scratches the back of his head.

Ichijou sighs, "He decided to sneak on board and come with us." The three boys glance over at Shaun who was standing a bit awkwardly behind the girls.

"Um, hi," Shaun gives a small, awkward wave, "I'm Shaun, Nicky's older brother."

"You never mentioned a brother," Aidou accuses.

"Technically he's my step-brother, I didn't know about him until a few weeks ago," Nicky explains. As Ichijou introduces himself and the other two males Nicky glances over at Kaname who was quietly standing to the side. She was really happy to see Kaname again and really wanted to go over and hug him, but with everyone there she was just too nervous to do that.

"It's really nice to meet all of you," Shaun gives the boys a smile.

"Anyway, my parents are inside talking to my teachers right now so I should probably go in and talk to them before I introduce you guys," Nicky says, glancing over at Kaname. She really wanted to talk to him alone before she introduced him to her parents. It would just be too awkward if she introduced them before the two of them had a chance to reconcile.

"Alright," Ichijou gives Nicky a smile, "should we just meet up later?"

Nicky nods, "Yeah, I think that would be for the best. It would be kind of awkward to introduce you all right now. Is that okay with you guys?" Nicky looks over at Aidou and Kaname who both nod their heads. "Alright, then I guess I'll call you later so we can all go to dinner or something."

"That sounds great," Ichijou smiles, "We still have to head to the hotel anyway."

"Alright," Nicky smiles as the group.

As the boys turn away Shaun leans in and whispers to Nicky, "Oh my gosh! They're all gorgeous!" he gushes a bit. Nicky blushes and Eli has to hold back her giggles. Looking over at the boys Nicky sees Aidou glance back with a slightly disturbed look on his face.

"Let's just head back inside," Nicky blushes a bit as she guides Shaun back inside.

"I'm going to go with the guys," Eli says, waving back as she follows after the other vampires.

Nicky sighs as she and Shaun head to where their parents were busily talking to Nicky's teachers. When Kathy spots the two she gives them a smile, "Where did you two head off too?"

"I went to meet up with my friend and Shaun followed," Nicky explains.

"Oh, right," Jason sighs, "So where is he?"

"He still had to check into his hotel, so we're going to meet up later," Nicky explains, waiting until the teachers all left before continuing, "Actually, more of my friends can than I knew."

"Oh," Kathy blinks, surprised, "Alright then. When do we get to meet them?"

"I was kind of hoping to talk to them for a bit before I introduced you guys to them," Nicky shifts a bit, uncomfortable.

"Why?" Jason crossed his arms, growing suspicious.

"There are a few things I wanted to tell them before I introduced you guys to them," Nicky explains.

"Like what?" Jason raises an eyebrow.

"Oh dad, just let it go," Shaun interrupts, breaking the tension. "I'm sure we can give Nicky an hour or so to talk to her friends. I'm sure Nicky just wants to make sure her friends will be on their best behavior when she introduces them." Shaun puts a hand on Nicky's shoulder, "I'm sure Nicky just wants to make sure her friends make a good first impression when you meet them. Right?" Shaun looks down at Nicky who nods. "That's why she wants to talk to them first. Can't you just humor her for a bit?"

Jason rolls his eyes before finally nodding, "Alright, I guess I can understand that. After how your friend Eli acted I can understand you wanting to make sure they don't make complete asses of themselves."

Nicky pressed her lips together. She knew Jason was taking a crack at Eli, but decided to let it go for now, "Thank you. I'm going to go give them a call. Why don't you take a walk around town, maybe see the sights for a bit while I talk to the guys."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Kathy gives Nicky a smile, "We can take some pictures and visit some sights~" Kathy starts getting excited as she and Jason walk off.

Nicky smiles up at Shaun, "Thank you for that. Jason just doesn't seem to like me."

"I'm sure that's not it," Shaun gives Nicky a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "He's probably just nervous raising a daughter and doesn't really know how to interact with you."

Nicky sighs, "Well, whatever his reasons I'm just glad there's someone on my side now." Shaun gives Nicky a wink. "I'm going to go call the guys. What are you going to do?"

"I figure I'll head with mom and dad so you can talk freely," Shaun turns, "I'll see you later!" Shaun waves as he heads off to catch up with their parents. Nicky just chuckles as she watches him go. It really was nice to have an older brother to stick up for her.

Taking a deep breath, Nicky heads outside to call Ichijou and let him know they can come back but before she dials his number she pauses and instead dials Kaname's cell phone number. The phone only run twice before Kaname answered, "Hello Nicky."

"Hi Kaname," Nicky says softly, "My parents just left. Um, could you come back to the school? I really want to talk with you. Maybe we can take a walk in the woods?"

"I'd like that," Kaname says calmly. Nicky can hear Eli in the background, but can't really make out what she was saying. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll see you then," Nicky says and the two hang up. Nicky takes another deep breath and looks up at the sky, trying to think about what she was going to say to Kaname. There were so many things going through her head. She kept thinking about the last time she spoke to Kaname, about their fight and what Eli had told her about Yuki. She knew she should apologize for blowing up at Kaname the way she did and for over reacting. Since Kaname had come all this way Nicky knew he must want to make up as well and that really made Nicky happy.

Shaking these thoughts out of her head, Nicky heads back to the school's front gate to wait for Kaname. Expecting to see the sleek black car the vampires had arrived in earlier, Nicky was surprised when she saw Kaname walking up to the school gates. Nicky smiles over at the man and waits for him to come a bit closer before rushing over.

"I'm really glad you're here Kaname," Nicky says softly, looking up at the man, "I'm sorry about before…" Nicky pauses, looking down and shifting a bit.

Kaname places his hand on Nicky's elbow, "We can talk while we walk." Nicky nods and the two begin walking along the outside of the wall surrounding the school.

The silence goes on for a few moments before Nicky finally begins talking, "I'm really sorry about not contacting you for so long," Nicky keeps her eyes down as she speaks, "I was being stubborn and I should have tried to talk to you sooner, it's just… Eli told me everything… about you and Yuki and I just…" Nicky grows quiet again before finally looking up at Kaname and asking, "Why couldn't you tell me about Yuki?"

Kaname pauses for a moment before answering, "I wasn't really sure how to explain it. My relationship with Yuki is complicated, though I want you to know that my feelings for her are simply that of an older brother for his younger sister." Hearing Kaname say this makes Nicky smile. Though she didn't believe Kaname would actually marry Yuki, somewhere deep down she had to admit she had felt a bit of unease about the whole situation.

"Also," Kaname continues, "when I asked about the kisses I must admit I felt a bit… uneasy. Seeing Ichijou kiss you and knowing how Eli feels about me I was a bit… insecure." Nicky has to suppress a giggle. After what everyone has told her about how proud Kaname is, Nicky can tell just how hard saying these things are for him and how awkward he must be feeling.

Nicky takes Kaname's hand and stops walking, making him stop as well. "Kaname, I'm sorry I made such a big deal out of all of this. It's just that I really care about you and I was afraid that you might have feelings for Yuki. Then when you asked about Ichijou I couldn't help thinking about her and it really scared me. Kaname, I look at Ichijou as more of a brother than anything else. I only care about you. I want you to know that."

"I do," Kaname gives Nick's hand a gentle squeeze, "I care about you as well. And I can understand how you feel." Nicky smiles up at Kaname, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him. Kaname gently hugs the blond back. Finally, after two long months apart, they were able to reconcile. Though, there was still one small issue. "What about Eli?" Kaname asks, causing the girl to look up. "The whole time she was with us she would not stop glaring at me."

Nicky sighs, "I'll talk to her." She takes a step back, "I'm really sorry about her, she keeps trying to force Ichijou on me and it's really..." Nicky grimaces and Kaname can't help but smile just a bit. He takes the girl's hand and they begin walking again, this time back to the front of the school, "When will I be able to meet your parents?"

"Oh!" Nicky blinks, remembering her parents were waiting to hear from her, "Um, I should probably talk to everyone about that. Eli has already made a very bad impression on my step-dad and I want to avoid giving him another reason not to like my friends. Though I think my mom actually likes her."

"I see, how do you think they will respond to me?" Kaname asks, raising an eyebrow. Nicky chuckles nervously, she could already picture what that meeting was going to look like.

~One hour (and long talk) later, at the parent's Hotel~

"First I'd like to introduce my family," Nicky motions to her parents and Shaun, deciding to start with the easier group, "This is my mother Kathy, my step-father Jason and my step-brother Shaun." Nicky motions to each then moves over towards the group of vampires, "Mom, Jason, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. You already know Eli, and this is Ichijou Takuma and Aidou Hanabusa," Nicky introduces the two males before moving to stand next to Kaname, "And this is Kaname Kuran, my boyfriend."

The room goes quiet for a moment and Nicky tries to gauge her parents' reactions. Her mother seemed mostly surprised and a little awed by the tall and handsome man while Jason seemed to be in shock, his face going from its normal color to pale then to a very interesting shade of purple. As Nicky braces herself for the screaming she was expecting from Jason, Kaname wonders if the man is having a stroke and whether or not the hotel is equipped to handle a medical emergency. When the man can open his mouth Kathy takes a step forward.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," Kathy extends her hand forward, giving Kaname a warm smile and shocking Jason back into stunned silence.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Kaname greets the older woman, shaking her hand.

"So I guess the two of you were able to reconcile?" Kathy asks gently, looking from the man to her daughter who nods, giving her mother a smile. "That's wonderful! I'm glad my daughter finally found herself someone!"

"What?" Jason demands, finally finding his voice, "This… This is… I…" The entire group looks over at Jason whose face was now a light red color.

"Um, perhaps we should go," Ichijou whispers to Aidou and Eli.

"Are you nuts?" Eli whispers back, "It looks like his head's about to explode! I just wish I had some popcorn!"

"I agree with Ichijou," Aidou whispers. Moving to stand on either side of the girl, the two vampire boys take Eli by the arms, lifting her off her feet and walking out of the room, much to the girl's disappointment.

"Now Jason," Kathy sighs, trying to calm her husband, "there's no reason to get so worked up."

"No reason?" the man's voice raises a level, "I sent Niccole to this school to learn, _not_ meet boys!"

"Come now, you knew this day would come," Kathy tries to object, "Nicky has always been popular. We both knew it was only a matter of time until she found someone she liked."

"Why do you think I chose an all-girl school?" Jason demands, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"I knew it!" Nicky exclaims.

"And you!" Jason turns to Kaname, who was patiently waiting for the man to stop shouting, "Just how old _are_ you? You know what, I don't care! You are too old and I don't want you seeing my daughter!"

"Oh, would you stop?" Kathy says, finally having enough of Jason's tantrum. Turning to the couple she sighs, "Would you excuse us?" Pushing the protesting Jason into another room, Kathy closes the door so she could have a talk with her husband.

"Wow," Shaun scratches the back of his head, "sorry about all that. I guess dad just…"

Kaname sighs, "There's no need to explain."

He looks down at Nicky who gives a tired smile, "See, I told you he'd react this way." Kaname gives a small nod and the two look back towards the door as Eli comes bursting back in.

"At least she still has her V-Card!" the girl shouts so Nicky's parents could hear from the other room, "I made sure of it!"

Nicky's face goes a bright red, "Eli!" Nicky glances over at the door her parents had gone through, half expecting her father to come back in. The room goes quiet again as the three Japanese males look at one another, confused by the American term.

Shaun breaks the tension by laughing, "Well, that's a good thing then!"

"So," Eli smiles over at Shaun, "What about you? Do you still have your V-Card?"

"V-Card, no; B-Card, yes," Shaun answers, causing Eli to snicker.

Nicky looks at the two, shaking her head with a still pink face, "That's it, I'm leaving." As Nicky turns to leave Kaname follows the girl out of the room.

"Kaname-sama, what's a 'V-Card?'" Ichijou asks, glancing over at the man, causing Nicky to freeze in her tracks.

"I'm not quite sure, it must be an American term," Kaname answers. Aidou looks down at Nicky, expecting her to answer. Nicky opens her mouth, her face still bright.

"I can answer that!" Eli perks up, hoping out of the room. Nicky looks over at her friend with wide eyes. Before the girl can explain, Nicky jumps on her friend, covering her mouth, mumbling, "They don't need to know!"

"I'll explain," Shaun offers, "It's when a girl is still a virgin."

Nicky stares up at her brother, embarrassed as Aidou starts laughing, "Oh, I see!" Aidou grins wide, "I never would have guessed! Those didn't look like the underwear of a virgin!" He laughs again and turns to walk away.

Kaname takes a deep breath, resisting the urge to strike the boy when Shaun walks over to him. Tapping the boy on the shoulder, Shaun waits for him to turn around. Giving the boy a sweet smile he says, "You _do_ realize I'm Nicky's older brother, right?" Aidou pauses, thinking about that for a moment before Shaun suddenly punches the boy in the nose, knocking him on his butt and bringing tears to the boy's eyes.

"Wh-what was that for?" Aidou covers his now bleeding nose, "K-Kaname-sama, do something!"

"You deserved it," Kaname coldly replies, turning to Shaun, "I apologize for Aidou, he doesn't seem to know when to stop talking."

"Oh, it's alright," Shaun smiles at Kaname, shaking his sore hand, "So, what exactly did he mean?"

"I'll explain later," Eli says, patting Shaun on the shoulder. The group decides to head out to dinner, leaving the parents to their conversation.


	18. Making Plans

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the last few, I just wanted to get it done so I can get to the good parts! Next chapter will be much better! Oh, and YAY FLUFF!

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><p><strong>Chapter 17 – Making Plans<strong>

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><p>As Spring Break comes to a close and the girls of the Isis Boarding School return to their classes and the two groups who had come to visit Nicky return to their homes. Jason was less than happy to learn that his daughter had found herself a boyfriend when he went through the trouble of finding such an exclusive all-girl school for her. What made it worse was seeing just how much older the boy was than Nicky. But the day Nicky introduced them Kathy had a long talk with Jason, calming him down enough to get through the week, but as soon as the two arrived back at their home in America Jason's calm evaporated.<p>

"I just can't believe this!" Jason exclaims, as they through their front door, "What is she thinking? As soon as she's off on her own she finds herself some older guy to hook up with?"

Kathy sighs, she knew this was coming and had prepared what she would say to her husband, "Jason, don't you think you are over reacting?"

"Over reacting? That boy has to be _at least_ 20 years old! Probably older!" Jason exclaims, dropping his baggage.

Kathy on the other hand heads towards the stairs leading to their second floor, "I'm telling you, this is just a phase. Every teenage girl goes through it. Even I went through it when I was her age."

"What do you mean?" Jason asks, picking up his bags again and following the woman up the stairs.

"Well," Kathy drops her bags on their bed and begins to unpack, "when I was her age I dated an older man. The whole point is to make her father angry." Kathy gives Jason a look and he adverts his eyes for a moment. "I'm telling you," she continues, "after a while Nicky will come to see just how little she and that boy have in common and she'll break up with him on her own, but if you keep making such a big deal out of this it will only make her like him more."

Jason looks down, unzipping his bags, "How long do you think it will take?"

"I'm not sure," Kathy finishes her unpacking and puts her luggage away. "Nicky did say he lived in another country, I'm sure that will help speed up their break-up. Also, when Nicky and I talked on the phone she said the two of them had a fight around Christmas and didn't actually talk again until right before her Spring Break. I'm sure it won't be long until they split for good."

Jason sighs, "I hope so. I don't want anything happening to Nicky."

Kathy smiles over at the man, "You really do care about her, don't you?"

Jason looks off to the side, "She's my daughter, no matter what she says." Jason sighs, "The whole reason I sent her to that school was to keep her away from boys like that. I know what goes through their heads, they think they can just use her and move on but…" Jason sighs. "I just don't want Nicky to get hurt."

"I know," Kathy smiles at her husband, "You should really tell Nicky all this. Maybe then she'd understand a little better and wouldn't be so… angry."

"Maybe," Jason sighs, "but what are we going to do about that boy?"

"Nothing," Kathy says, much to Jason's displeasure, "the more we do, the more attractive he'll seem to her and if we try to force them apart Nicky will probably end up marrying the boy just to spite us." Though reluctant to let the subject go, Jason decides to trust Kathy's judgment, at least for the time being.

~Back in England~

With Spring Break over and everyone gone Nicky could finally relax. Though, Eli seemed less than happy. Looking over at her friend Nicky asks, "What's wrong Eli?"

Eli sighs, "Well, it was really fun hanging out with Shaun and the guys. It was so funny to watch him make Aidou uncomfortable!" Nicky chuckles, smiling at her friend, "And I think he made Kaname uncomfortable too!"

"You really like him, huh?" Nicky asks.

"Yeah, that and I really hate Kaname," Eli pouts. She wasn't very happy to learn the two had made up.

Nicky rolls her eyes, "Can't you at least _try_ to get along with him? For me?"

Eli continues to pout, "… I guess I can try. I'm not making any promises though."

Nicky chuckles, "I guess I can accept that." Shutting off the light, Nicky rolls onto her side and goes to sleep, Eli doing the same.

As the weeks pass Nicky stays in touch with both Kaname and Ichijou, texting and calling them whenever she could. Whenever Nicky would text back and forth with Kaname Eli would make faces and Toni, though she was better about keeping her comments to herself, would let Nicky know she didn't like Kaname either, mainly with looks instead of words.

On the weekends Nicky would check in with her parents, letting them know how she was doing in school and how things were going with her friends. Every once in a while Kathy would ask about Kaname and Nicky would just tell her that things were great and they were keeping in touch through the phone. As summer begins to draw closer Nicky begins thinking about what she wants to do for her break.

Sitting at her desk, studying for an upcoming test Nicky's mind begins to wander to thoughts of summer. She jumps a bit when she hears her cell phone begin to ring. Checking the caller ID, Nicky gives a smile as she answers her phone, "Hello Kaname."

"Hello Nicky. How is everything?" Kaname asks through the receiver.

"Fine, I was just studying for a test," Nicky says with a smile. It was about 2 in the afternoon in England so it was around 5:00 in the afternoon in Japan.

"I see, have you thought about what you want to do for Summer?" Kaname asks, as if reading Nicky's mind.

Giggling a bit Nicky says, "Actually, I was just thinking about that. I'm not really sure what I want to do just yet."

"I see," Kaname says, "Have you spoken with your parents yet?"

"No," Nicky looks back at her work sheet, "I was thinking about calling my mom sometime today to see what plans she and Jason have for the summer. Since I'll be out of school for a while I'll have to know what exactly they have planned before I make any decisions. The school doesn't really have any programs for the summer so I don't really think I can stay here."

"If you'd like, you can always come stay with me for the summer," Kaname offers. Nicky feels her cheeks heat up, thinking about living with Kaname over the summer. Of course Eli would never allow that, but it was still a nice picture.

"That sounds great! If I can't go home I'd love to come stay with you," Nicky pauses, "Oh, wait. Are we even on vacation at the same time?"

"Hm," the line goes quiet for a moment and Nicky can hear Kaname moving papers on the other end of the line, "Our break starts two weeks after yours break," Kaname says, "and it ends two weeks before you go back to school."

"I see," Nicky blinks, "So, you're only on break for a month? That's too bad, but I guess it can't be helped." Nicky was a bit sad to learn that their schedules were so different. This means that even if she did go to Cross Academy to spend the summer with Kaname, there were two weeks before and after his break that she would have to wait while he was in class. She couldn't wait at Kaname's dorm since there was nothing but vampires there and she didn't want to bother Cross by staying with him for so long.

"Are you alright?" Kaname asks, snapping Nicky out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yes! I was just thinking," Nicky laughs nervously, "Uh, I think I should talk to my parents first, before we make any plans."

"Alright," Nicky can hear Kaname sigh quietly.

"I really want to see you though," Nicky confesses, quietly, "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Kaname says softly, making Nicky's heart beat faster, "I'll try to come see you, wherever you spend your summer."

Nicky and Kaname continue talking for a bit longer before the two say their goodbyes. Nicky sighs, she would have to think up something to do the four weeks she wouldn't be able to spend with Kaname. Though, Nicky really did want to do _something_ with Kaname over the summer. It was killing her not being able to see him!

Nicky looks over at the door as Eli and Toni walk into the room. "We're back!" Eli says, holding up some shopping bags.

"What's with the long face?" Toni asks, putting the bag with Nicky's groceries on her bed.

"I just talked with Kaname," Nicky says, sighing.

"Did you have a fight?" Eli asks.

"No, and you don't have to ask so excited," Nicky rolls her eyes at the girl, "No, I just found out that Kaname's vacation doesn't start until _two weeks_ after ours and ends _two weeks_ before ours."

"So…?" Eli asks, going through her bags, pulling out a bag of Beef Jerky.

"That means if I go to Cross Academy for the summer there will still be two weeks before and after Kaname's vacation that he'd be in class," Nicky explains, "I can't stay at his dorm and I don't want to bother Cross so…" Nicky sighs again, "I don't think I'll be able to spend the summer in Japan."

Toni sighs, "Personally, I think that's a good thing. I don't trust some of those boys and I think you'd be better off spending the summer elsewhere."

Though she didn't want to, Nicky had to admit Toni had a good point, "I still have to call home and see what my parents are doing before I make any real plans."

"Yeah?" Eli takes a large bite of the dried meat, "You thinking of going home for the summer?"

Nicky shrugs, "Maybe… I guess it wouldn't be so bad seeing some of my old friends again. Oh!" Nicky perks up a bit, "And if you come with me…"

Eli grins, "I think that sounds like a great idea! What about you Toni?"

Toni sighs, "Well, I have to work during the summer so I can't really leave."

"What _is_ your job anyway?" Nicky asks, looking over at the girl.

"Don't worry about it," Toni says, waving the question away.

Nicky stares a t the girl, "I'm starting to think you're in some sort of gang or something. Like the mafia."

Eli laughs, "Yeah, the English mafia. Instead of drive by shootings, it's drive by arguments!" Both Eli and Nicky start laughing and Toni just sighs, smiling over at her friends.

As the giggles die down Nicky looks over at the boxes of hair color Eli had strewn out on her bed. "What's all that for?" Nicky asks, moving closer.

"Oh, yeah I have to redo my streaks," Eli holds up the box of orange hair dye, "Anyway, what were you up to?"

"Um, I was thinking about calling my parents to see what they were planning for summer," Nicky explains, holding up her cell phone.

"That's a good idea," Eli says, letting her hair down and moving to open the bedroom window.

"How strong are those fumes going to be?" Nicky asks, wrinkling her nose and pointing at the box of dye.

"Don't worry, as long as the window is open you'll barely even notice," Eli waves the concerns away, "Just be glad it's not that colder out." Nicky rolls her eyes and watches her friend as she pulls out a plastic cover, wrapping it around her shoulders and taking out the color from the box of dye.

"How long will this take?" Nicky asks, glancing over at Toni who sat down at one of the desks.

"About an hour," Eli pulls on the pair of plastic gloves that came in the box. After separating the colored streaks from the rest of her hair, Eli begins applying the bright orange dye to her hair.

"Okay then," Nicky looks over at Toni.

"Just, call your mom," Toni says, shrugging, "Once Eli starts with the color, it's best to just ignore her."

Nicky chuckles, "Alright then." Opening her phone, Nicky dials her parents' home phone number. Since it was about 5 in the afternoon in England, it would be around noon in America so Nicky figured her parents would be home, or at least her mother would be.

By the third ring Kathy answers the phone, "Hello?"

"Hi mom," Nicky says, with a smile.

"Hello dear, how are things?" Kathy asks, happy to be hearing from her daughter.

"Fine, I was just wondering what you were planning for summer. Since the school doesn't have a summer program and Kaname's summer break is only half as long as ours I don't really have many options," Nicky explains.

"Oh! Actually your fa- I mean, Jason and I were hoping you would want to come home for summer. Maybe we can all go on a trip together, as a family!" Kathy says, sounding excited.

"Oh, um… I was hoping to get to see some of my old friends again," Nicky starts then quickly adds in, "Just at the start! I wouldn't mind considering a trip for the second half of my break."

"That sounds great, so we can count on you coming home?" Kathy asks.

"Yes," Nicky smiles.

"Me too!" Eli shouts as she finishes applying the hair color.

"Um, would you mind if Eli tagged along?" Nicky asks her mother, "She's American too and I don't think she's been back in a while."

"Well, as long as she promises to be on her best behavior I don't see why she can't come visit," since they had a spare room and everything Eli staying with them shouldn't be a problem. Then again, Jason might not see it that way, "What about your other friend, the one with the black hair? Will she be joining us as well?"

Nicky grins over at Eli who grins back before turning to Toni, "Do you want to come too?"

Toni shakes her head, "I have to work, so I can't go."

"Too bad," Nicky frowns a bit before going back to her mother, "I guess it'll just be me and Eli then."

"Alright sweetie," Kathy gives another smile, "Whenever you figure out which flight you'll be on, give us a call so we can get ready and be there when you arrive."

"Alright, I'll talk to you then," both women say their goodbyes, hanging up. "Looks like we'll be heading to my house for summer…" Nicky leans back on her bed. The room goes quiet for a moment before Nicky breaks the silence again, "Good lord, I think those fumes are starting to get to me." Nicky walks over to the window taking a deep breath, "Now I know why you're so strange!"

Toni begins laughing and Eli blushes a bit, "Hey! It's not the chemicals, I'm just quirky."

"Yeah, so you say!" Toni mumbles, making Nicky laugh again.

"You just wish you were as cool as me," Eli says, crossing her arms.

"We're just messing with you, Eli," Nicky says, giving her friend a smile, "Still, how can you stand having that stuff on your head like that?"

Eli shrugs, "I'm just used to it."


	19. A Summer of Surprises

**Chapter 18 – A Summer of Surprises**

Nicky smiles as she and Eli step out of the plane terminal and over to the baggage claim. She was a bit disappointed to not be spending summer with Kaname, but being able to spend the summer in her home town was going to be great! And having Eli there with her made it even better! Nicky looks over at Eli as the two head out towards the main exit where Kathy had told the two she would meet them.

"I'm really glad we get to spend the summer here!" Nicky says, smiling.

"Yeah," Eli agrees with a grin, "it's been so long since I've been here in America it's kind of nice to be back!" As they reach the front gate the two spot Kathy who was waiting patiently for them. Walking over the two greet the woman and begin loading their luggage into the waiting car.

"How was the trip, girls?" Kathy asks, as they all climb into the car and start back for the house.

"It was okay," Nicky says with a shrug.

"We had to ride Coach and there was this little kid that kept crying," Eli complains, "The mom just completely ignored the kid and put on head phones! It was all I could do not to go over and hit the brat!" Kathy looks up into the rearview mirror, looking at Eli. What the girl had said disturbed the woman a bit and Nicky could tell.

Laughing nervously Nicky adds in, "Yeah, but I made sure to keep Eli under control. I wouldn't let her actually harm a small child."

"Yeah, I still say you should have let me say something to the mom," Eli pouts.

"The Flight Attendant handled it. If you had said anything it would have just caused problems," Nicky pats her friend on the shoulder. Both of the girls were sitting in the back seat of Kathy's car, that way Nicky could keep her friend under control. The car grows quiet for a while until they finally arrive at the two story house.

"Here we are," Kathy says with a smile as she pulls up to the garage. Exiting the car and grabbing the luggage, both girls follow Kathy into the house.

Eli looks around as the woman gives her a tour of the house, first showing Eli to her room as Nicky puts her luggage in her own room. After their things are safely in their rooms Nicky rejoins her mother and Eli as Kathy gives the grand tour, showing Eli around the medium sized house. She shows her around the upstairs, to the three bedrooms and the bathrooms, then down the stairs to the den and the family room, then over to the dining room, kitchen, and then the laundry room. She points out the door to the basement then shows Eli outside to the back yard, which was one of the best parts of the whole house. It was large with a flower bed over to one side and an in ground pool on the other. There was a concrete patio with a barbeque pit near the house.

"You did some work while I was away," Nicky points out.

Eli looks at her friend then over across the back yard, "What part is new?"

Kathy laughs, "Well, I worked on the flowers quite a bit and the pit is new. Jason just finished it last week. We were thinking of having a barbeque to welcome you both home!"

Nicky smiles, "That sounds great mom," Looking over at Eli Nicky adds in, "Even if I don't like him, I have to admit Jason makes some really great steak."

"Oh! Can we have Cheese Cake too!" Eli asks, jumping once, "I love Steak and Cheese Cake!" Eli looks at Kathy with large, hopeful eyes.

Kathy laughs, "Sure! I can run out and get some right now. Would you girls like to come along?"

Nicky looks at Eli who was nodding, "I guess." Kathy smiles at the two and they all head back to the car. Kathy knew the best little bakery in town that sold some really delicious desserts. As they are out Kathy decides to stop at a few other places as well, just showing Eli around the town. Eli doesn't really care all that much, she just kept thinking about the delicious dessert that would be waiting for them.

As they head home Eli asks, "Can I have a slice when we get back? Just a little one?"

Kathy chuckles, "I guess, we can have some tea too!" Nicky looks over at her mom, raising an eye brow, _Since when does mom drink tea? Is this because we have been in England?_

"If you want, I'll make the tea," Nicky offers.

"No, it's okay," Kathy smile back at her daughter as she stops in front of the house, "I can make it while you girls unpack."

"Sounds good to me," Eli shrugs. She really just wanted some cake, but she could wait a bit.

About an hour after their "Tea Party," as Eli called it, Jason finally returned home. He wasn't thrilled to have the "disrespectful loudmouth" as a house guest for the summer, but Kathy had sweet talked him into agreeing to the arrangement so he does his best to be a good host. Greeting Kathy first, he looks over at the girls, "Welcome home Nicky and… Eli was it?"

Eli frowns but the looks she gets from Nicky tells her to behave so she nods, "Yeah, it's Eli."

"So," Nicky tries to break the tension, "Mom said you were going to barbeque?"

"Yeah, the steaks have been marinating all day," Jason says, "I'm going to go get changed," Jason heads for the stairs and Kathy gives the girls a big smile.

"Is Shaun going to be joining us?" Eli asks, looking at Kathy.

"No, sorry," Kathy shrugs, "He lives in another town and he's been pretty busy, but he said he wanted to stop over this weekend."

"Too bad, he seemed pretty nice when we met," Eli frowns, a little disappointed, "He was so much fun, it's too bad we won't be able to hang out for a while."

Kathy shrugs, "He's got his own life," Kathy checks her watch, "I'm going to go light up the barbeque then I'll start on the side dishes. Would you girls like to help?"

"Sure," Nicky smiles, "What about you Eli?"

Eli shrugs, "Why not?"

~Two weeks Later~

Summer was passing by without any incidents. Nicky was able to keep Eli from picking fights with Jason and, for the most part things were going rather smoothly. Nicky was able to meet up with a few of her old friends and they all seemed to love Eli and Shaun stopped by on the weekends to hang out with the girls. Nicky was happy, but she couldn't stop thinking about Kaname. Though she was happy to be spending time with her mom and friends, she still missed Kaname (she couldn't actually bring herself to call him her "boyfriend" since they never actually talked about that).

As the second week of their summer vacation comes to a close Nicky considers calling Kaname to see what he's planning. She was only able to call him a few times since the time difference hade things difficult. As Nicky lies down to go to bed she looks at her cell phone. It was around 10 in the evening so it would be around 6 Am in Japan. Nicky sighs, wondering if Kaname was still in class or about to leave for his summer break. She didn't want to disturb him if he was still in class so Nicky decides to just go to sleep and try later.

~Later, In Japan~

It was early in the morning and the students of Cross Academy were all heading out to enjoy their summer. Kaname had thought about where he wanted to go for summer and, after discussing things with Ichijou the two decided exactly where they would be going for summer. As they head out Kaname pauses, seeing Yuki walk over to him.

"Good morning, Kaname-senpai," Yuki smiles up at the man, "Heading out for summer break?"

Kaname nods, "Yes, has Headmaster Cross planned another trip?"

"Yes," Yuki rubs the back of her neck, "He's going to be taking Kiryu-kun and I on a trip to an Island."

"Make sure to use sun block," Kaname advises, making Yuki blush just slightly.

The two pause and look over as Ichijou approaches, "Our car is here, Kaname-sama."

"I see,' Kaname looks back at Yuki, "Have a nice summer."

Yuki nods and watches the two Night Class students walk away. Sighing, she turns around and heads back to over to Cross who was seeing off the students.

As their car starts off for the train station Kaname looks over at Ichijou, "Do you know where exactly Nicky lives?"

"Yes, I got the address from Eli and I already talked to the train conductor," Ichijou answers with a smile, "I'm sure Nicky will be very surprised when we arrive!"

Kaname nods and looks out the window. Since Nicky wasn't comfortable coming to Cross Academy since their vacations differed so much, Kaname had decided to go to America to surprise her. The thing was he didn't know her address. He didn't want to ask, since that would give away his intentions and he knew Eli wouldn't tell him, or would give him the wrong address just to spite him. So, he had to ask Ichijou to get the address for him, and of course he had to invite Ichijou along. Again this was partly because of Eli. If he didn't bring Ichijou along Eli would harass him even worse than usual.

Though Kaname wanted to spend some time alone with Nicky, he knew that would be hard to do as long as Eli was present. Perhaps Ichijou could keep her busy for him while he and Nicky spend some time together.

~The next Day~

Nicky and Eli sit down to breakfast as Kathy heads out to the back yard to do a bit of work with her flowers. Nicky sighs, picking at her eggs.

"What's wrong?" Eli asks with a mouth full of food.

"I was just thinking," Nicky shrugs.

"About what?" Eli takes a drink of her orange juice, which had a strange orange red color caused by a blood tablet she had dropped into it.

"I really wanted to spend the summer with Kaname but…" Nicky sighs again, "We haven't been able to really talk much since we arrived here in America and I wanted to try calling him this morning but his phone was off."

Eli shrugs, "Oh, don't worry about him."

Nicky looks over at Eli's orange juice, 'That looks really gross." Eli grins and continues with her food.

By that evening Nicky tried calling Kaname two more times, both with the same results. "I wonder what he's doing right now?" Nicky asks looking at her phone.

"Who are you talking about?" Kathy asks, clearing off the dinner table.

"Kaname," Nicky sighs, "I haven't been able to reach him all day and I'm starting to get a little worried."

Kathy sighs, "About that… Do you think we could talk?"

"Okay?" Nicky raises an eyebrow at her mother and follows the woman out of the dining room and over to the den. After taking her usual seat and waiting for her mother to sit as well, Nicky looks at her mother, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, it's about Kaname," Kathy begins slowly.

Nicky sighs, "Did Jason put you up to this?"

"No, no…" Kathy pauses, "Actually I thought it would be best if you and I had a talk about your relationship with Kaname. Nicky, I am your mother and I will always love you, but I just don't think this boy is right for you."

Nicky frowns, crossing her arms, "You don't know Kaname. He's a really great guy and he makes me happy. Why can't you just accept that?"

Kathy sighs, "Nicky, he is too old for you. Things might seem great right now, but there is just too great a difference between you two. And I'm sure you've realized just how hard a long distance relationship can be. Not to mention you said you two had a fight during Christmas and how long did it take for you two to make up?" Nicky remains quiet, looking off to the side. Kathy continues, "I know right now it seems like you two are meant to be together, that's how it is for everyone when they have their first real relationship but do you know just how often these kinds of relationships fail? He lives on the other side of the world and you deserve someone you can actually spend time with, someone who is closer to your age that lives in the same area as you."

"You mean in England or America?" Nicky snaps back, "Right now I spend most of the year in England, but you won't be happy with that either? Because he 'lives in another country' and my 'real' home is right here in America, but that won't work because I'll be in another country during school. So what, you just want me not keep my feeling to myself until I graduate?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying, I'm just saying that you and Kaname won't work out and I think it would be better for you to end your relationship before things go too far and you get hurt even worse."

"By 'go too far' you mean sex?" Nicky demands.

Kathy goes quiet for a moment, "Look, when I was your age I dated an older man and that is exactly what happened. He just wanted sex and…"

Nicky cuts her off, "Kaname isn't like that! He actually cares about me and I care about him!"

"And just what do you think is going to come out of this relationship?" Kathy asks, "Do you expect him to leave Japan and marry you?"

"No, I figured I could go love in Japan with him, I mean you left our home in Washington to come live here with Jason and you two weren't even married!" Nicky knew it was a low blow to bring up the move, but damn it her mother was going too far!

Kathy grows quiet for a moment, "I didn't leave the country."

"No you just moved us to the other side of it so you could move in with your boyfriend. You didn't even talk to me about it, you just announced it!"

"That is not what we are talking about!" Kathy snaps, "We are talking about you and Kaname, not what happened with me and Jason." Nicky glares, but goes quiet. "You are too young to be thinking about getting serious with this boy. Besides, you are still a minor!"

"Actually," Eli interrupts, drawing both their attention to the door way, "You do know that the age of consent in England is 15, right? So if she and Kaname wanted, they could get married. Lord knows I would never let that happen since I hate Kaname, but the whole 'age' thing isn't really a problem."

Nicky blushes a little at the thought that she and Kaname could get married, but does her best to push it aside and asks, "Wait, how long have you been standing there? Weren't you just upstairs?"

"That's beside the point," Eli waves the question away, "Look all I'm saying is that you can't force Nicky to dump Kaname. For _some reason_ she likes him and as her mother you should support her." Kathy looks down and Nicky grows quiet. "You're family and should be supporting one another, not fighting over something so ridiculous."

Nicky looks over at her mother who looks back at her, "I guess you're right, sorry Nicky."

"Yeah," Nicky sighs, "I'm going to take a shower," Nicky stands and walks out of the room, leaving Kathy and Eli alone. After her shower, Nicky tries calling Kaname but his phone is still turned off. Sighing, Nicky falls back onto her bed, deciding to go to bed early.

The next day Nicky wakes a bit early and decides to go down and start breakfast. Jason had to leave for a business trip the previous day and would not return for a couple of days still so she didn't have to worry about cooking for him. Though, when the doorbell rings Nicky sighs, wondering if Jason has returned early. Walking over to the door Nicky opens it, expecting to see Jason or one of his coworkers, but when she sees a certain dark haired male standing in front of her she didn't want to believe it.

"K… Kaname?" Nicky asks, blinking in surprise.

"It's nice to see you Nicky," Kaname says with a small smile, "Are you going to invite me in?"

"Ah! Yes, please come in!" Nicky moves to the side to let Kaname in, "What are you doing here?"

Kaname glances around the room before looking back at Nicky, "I wanted to surprise you with a visit."

Nicky smiles up at Kaname, walking over and giving him a hug, "I'm really glad you're here!"

Kaname gives Nicky a hug back, "Me too. Where are your parents?"

Nicky looks up at Kaname, still holding on to him, "My step-dad is away on a business trip and my mom is still asleep. I think Eli is too."

Kaname smiles a bit, "So you decided to get up early?"

Nicky nods, "I was going to make breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

"I would," Kaname replies, but when Nicky pulls away a bit he leans down and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek, causing Nicky to blush. With a bit smile she walks off to the kitchen with Kaname following quietly behind. Continuing on breakfast, Nicky adds enough food for Kaname as well.

While the couple are in the kitchen Eli comes down, still half asleep but smelling bacon was enough to wake her up. Eli pauses when she smells the scent of another vampire and smirks a bit. She knew Ichijou was supposed to be coming so she automatically assumed he had finally arrived. The previous day, once Nicky had left Eli and Kathy alone, she filled the woman in on her plan. She believed that only Ichijou was coming to visit so she had developed a plot to try and get the two together, driving a wedge between Nicky and Kaname. Kathy was initially against the idea, but when Eli assured her that Ichijou was actually younger than Kaname and was innocent and sweet she slowly grew to agree with Eli. Though she didn't want to interfere, Kathy agreed not to get in the way of Eli's evil plans.

So when Eli walks into the kitchen and sees that it wasn't Ichijou, but instead Kaname she glares, pointing at the man she says, "This isn't over, Kuran! This isn't over!" Both Nicky and Kaname look over at Eli, surprised by her sudden outburst.

Kaname blinks, looking at the girl and asks, "Are you wearing male underwear?"

Eli looks down at the boxers she wore to bed the previous night, "Don't change the subject!" Eli slowly backs out of the room, closing the kitchen door.

"That was…" Nicky pauses, trying to pick the right words.

"Odd?" Kaname finishes for her, "Eli has always been like that, as long as I've known her."

Nicky chuckles nervously, "Why don't you set the table while I finish making breakfast?"


	20. Amusement Park Fun! (Part 1)

****[Author's Note: OMG, I am so sorry this has taken so long to post! I have had the worst writer's block but here is the newest chapter. Thank you to all of my readers who have actually stuck with this and supported me. I will do my best to get the next chapter uploaded as soon as possible!]

**Chapter 19 – Amusement Park Fun! (Part 1)**

Two days after Kaname and Ichijou arrive in America Nicky surprises not only them, but Eli as well with passes to an amusement park coupled with reservations to a very nice hotel. Kaname was more reserved about the news but Eli and Ichijou were both very ecstatic. "I'm glad you guys are so happy," Nicky says, smiling, "Since the passes are for a week, we'll be able to ride all of the rides and see all of the shows. And if we get tired of the park, the hotel has a spa and a pool that we can use too!"

"This is going to be so much fun! I haven't been to an amusement park since I was a little kid!" Eli grins excitedly. _Not to mention, this would give me tones of chances to get Nicky and Ichi together!_ Eli glances over at Ichijou, plotting different ways to get the two together as Nicky goes over some plans with the guys.

"So we'll leave tomorrow," Nicky continues, "My mom has already agreed to drive us to the hotel."

"How long will the drive be?" Kaname asks.

"About ninety minutes, but it's mostly on the freeway," Nicky explains, "We are going to be leaving early, around 7 in the morning. Do you guys think you'll be ready?"

"Don't worry, it'll be okay," Ichijou assures.

They finish going over the details and the group decides to spend the rest of the day walking around town with Nicky showing the guys the sights. When the group finally parts and the girls head back to Nicky's home they immediately pack for the trip the next day. Along with a week's worth of clothes and the rest of the essentials, Nicky makes sure to pack sunblock for the vampires of the group. By bed that night Nicky was so excited to leave the next morning, she wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep.

The next morning Nicky was tired, but still excited. After picking up the boys, Kathy gets onto the freeway and starts for the amusement park. Nicky ends up falling asleep in the car as Eli talks about all of the rides she wanted to go on. Eli had taken the front seat while the other three sat in the back with Nicky in the middle. When she nods off Kaname makes sure her head in on his shoulder. He knew Eli would get far too much enjoyment if she looked back and saw Nicky leaning against Ichijou… at least that is his excuse.

When they finally arrive, Kaname gently wakes Nicky who blushes and exits the car on his side. "I'll be back next Sunday to pick you up," Kathy tells Nicky as she leans out the car window, "I'll leave around 8 in the evening and call when I arrive, so be ready."

"Okay, thanks for driving us," Nicky hugs her mother through the window then walks over to the group as the woman drives away. Nicky smiles when she sees Kaname holding her luggage as well as his own. Eli had wandered off and was playing with the revolving door, trapping some poor ten year old. "We should check in now. Eli, let the poor kid out," Nicky sighs as they head inside. Eli pouts a bit but releases the little boy.

Once they have the key cards for their rooms the group head up the elevator to the 4th floor where they head into rooms on either side of the hallway. Nicky smiles as she tosses her luggage onto her bed. "After we unpack, we can head down for breakfast," Nicky suggests, "Then we can head over to the park and check out the rides. Since we'll be here all week, we can take our time to check out _everything_."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Eli grins over at her friend as they unpack. Nicky had made sure to bring a backpack to carry all of their things in so they won't have to keep coming back to the hotel. As soon as they finish unpacking there is a knock on the door. Eli is the one to open it, letting the two men into the room. "Are you all done unpacking?" Eli asks the men as she closes the door.

"Yes," Kaname answers, looking over at Nicky, "Do you have any idea what you want to do first?"

"Yes," Nicky smiles at the man, "Eli and I were thinking we could go downstairs to get something to eat then we could go check out the amusement park. Since we'll be here for a while I figured today we could walk around and maybe see some of the shows."

"That sounds good to me!" Ichijou says with a big smile and Kaname agrees with a nod.

"Before we go," Nicky reaches into her pack and pulls out the bottle of sunscreen, "we should all put some of this on. I would hate for someone to get a sunburn."

"Oh, right" Eli laughs nervously, "I completely forgot about that." Eli takes the lotion first, making sure to get every inch of exposed skin before passing it to Ichijou. Once everyone has taken their turn, Nicky packs the sunscreen away in her pack. "Alrighty then, now that we're all covered, let's go get some food!" Eli cheers as they all head out of the room to get some breakfast. The hotel had a large spread and the four made sure to eat their fill before heading to the hotel entrance to take the shuttle over to the park.

There were a lot of other hotel guests taking the shuttle and Nicky ended up having to sit on Kaname's lap during the ride. Much to Eli's displeasure she too had to sit on Ichijou's lap during the ride. Luckily though, the ride was short and they were able to get off of the shuttle before poor Ichijou got too uncomfortable. Standing outside the park entrance, Nicky takes the lead and guides them inside, grabbing a map on the way in.

"Where should we start?" Nicky asks, looking at the map while the others gather around.

"What do you suggest?" Kaname asks, looking at Nicky show shrugs.

"I'm not sure," Nicky looks up, "I've never actually been here before. I've been to other amusement parks, but not this one."

Ichijou thinks for a moment, "How about we just walk around for a while? Just explore the park and maybe go one any rides that look fun?"

"Sounds like a good idea!" Eli agrees with Ichijou.

"Alright, we can check out some of the shops as we walk!" Nicky agrees, putting the map in her bag. As the group begins to walk, Nicky shyly takes Kaname's hand. The smiles down at Nicky, holding her hand back. Eli on the other hand frowns when she sees this, but she knew there would be plenty of chances to get Nicky and Ichijou together. She would just have to be patient until then. The group spends the morning walking around, looking at a few shops as Ichijou looks around excited. After a while, the group spots some of the park mascots and Ichijou ends up running over to one of them and giving the costumed man a big hug. The girls laugh at Ichijou's excitement and Eli snaps a picture.

"Ichi is just so adorable! I'm going to have to get plenty of pictures of him," Eli gushes a bit as the boy runs around like a child, greeting the costumed characters, even if he had no idea who any of them were.

Nicky smiles at Ichijou as he finally returns to the group, "Having fun?"

"Yes! This is all so exciting. I've never been to an amusement park before!" Ichijou exclaims, a bit out of breath from running around.

"Well, try not to wander off. This place is big and it would be easy to get lost," Nicky advises the boy as they move along. It was getting close to lunch now and they were getting hungry so Eli suggests they stop for lunch at a pizza shop.

"Is this the first time you guys are going to have pizza?" Nicky asks as they all sit down at one of the tables. Eli had made sure Ichijou was to one side of Nicky, even if it meant she was forced to sit next to Kaname.

In response to Nicky's question, Kaname nods, 'This is our first time here in America. We've never really had America foods before."

"Really? Well, I hope you like it!" Nicky smiles at Kaname and Ichijou as the waitress brings over a pizza for the group of teenagers. Kaname was a bit apprehensive at first while Ichijou and Eli dug in. Nicky chuckles at the friend's lack of manners while Kaname eats a bit slower. "So, what do you think?" Nicky asks once the food is gone.

"I want to try more American food!" Ichijou exclaims while wiping off his mouth.

Kaname nods, "It's good, but I would rather try more of your cooking." Nicky smiles, blushing a bit.

Eli rolls her eyes and decides to change the subject, "Why don't we go catch a show or something? After our stomachs have settled, maybe we can try going on a ride?"

"Sure," Nicky stands and the others do the same. After they leave the pizza shop Nicky passes Eli the map and lets her choose which show they would go see. Seeing this as an opportunity, Eli picks a 3-D show she knew would frighten Nicky and leads the way. Nicky was a bit reluctant to see the horror show but went along, seeing how excited Eli and Ichijou were. Kaname could see that Nicky was nervous and does his best to comfort the girl, putting a hand on her lower back and giving her a small, reassuring smile.

Nicky smiles back as they walk into the darkened theater. Eli positions Ichijou in front of the group and does her best to move between Kaname and Nicky, forcing Nicky to sit with Ichijou to one side and Eli to the other. The lights were down when they entered the theater so Eli was able to do this without Nicky or Ichijou noticing, but Kaname could easily see what the girl was doing. Instead of protesting, he lets her have her way. He knew he didn't really have anything to worry about. Nicky had made that very clear during the weeks after their spring break. But that didn't mean he would just let Eli have her way.

The movie was a short one, but it did a good job frightening Nicky. Like Eli had wanted, the girl ended up clinging to Ichijou during half of the movie. During the other half she had cling to Eli, which the girl could have lived without and as the movie ends and they leave the theater, Eli is happy to see Nicky holding onto Ichijou's arm. But as soon as they are in the open, Nicky switches over to Kaname who pats her back reassuringly.

"I didn't think it was that scary," Ichijou points out as they walk.

"Y-yeah," Nicky mumbles, embarrassed that she had let the film get to her like that, "I just have this fear of zombies."

"It's fine," Kaname wraps his arm around Nicky's waist, pulling her closer, "Why don't we play some games now? I'm sure that will be fun, right Eli?"

Eli frowns, narrowing her eyes at the man, "Yeah, I think I saw some games back this way." Eli shows them back to the games and points out some games of skill. "Why don't we see who's better?" Eli motions to the games, smirking a bit. Carnival games were her specialty and she felt confident that she would win. Kaname nods and walks over, paying for the both of them to play. The two play a couple rounds of a shooting game then move on to ring toss and a few other games. Each time, Kaname came out the victor and by the end he had won a large stuffed rabbit which he hands over to Nicky. Nicky smiles and hugs the toy, not noticing Eli's sour face. Eli glares up at Kaname, whispering "Bastard" as they move away from the games.

Ichijou had played a few games as well, winning some small trinkets which Nicky stored in her pack. "This bunny is just so cute!" Nicky squeals, cuddling the light blue bunny.

"What are you going to call it?" Ichijou asks, smiling.

"I'm not sure," Nicky squeezes the bunny again and glances over at Eli who was glaring at the stuffed toy. "Um… What's wrong Eli?"

"It's mocking me," Eli mutters, staring at the bunny's smiling face.

"Wh-what?" Nicky asks, worried about her friend.

"It's… mocking me… with the essence of him…" Eli repeats, shooting a glare back at Kaname before pouting and looking away.

The group goes quiet for a moment. Ichijou finally breaks the tension by laughing nervously, "Well, why don't we go get a snack or something?"

As soon as those words are out, they all hear someone calling, "Kaname-sama!" The group stops, all of them surprised when they see a certain boy running over to them. "Kaname-sama! I've finally found you!" Aidou runs over to the group, arms outstretched as if to hug Kaname.

Kaname sighs, holding his own arm out and catching Aidou by the head, stopping the boy from actually touching him. "What are you doing here?" Kaname asks sounding, a little cold.

Aidou blinks, looking up at the man and standing straight. "W-well… I saw you and Ichijou leaving and I just wanted to come along. But as soon as you guys got here to America, I lost you. I wandered around for _days_ before I finally ran into Nicky's mother. She told me you were here and gave me a ride."

Nicky stares at the boy in disbelief. "You… followed them here? And then wandered around town for _days_?"

Aidou pouts a bit, "Well…"

"That's Aidou for you," Eli sighs, "He's practically Kaname's stalker."

"Hey!" Aidou glares over at Eli, "It's nothing like that!"

"Oh _please_! If you were a woman you would be all over him! You're even worse than Ruka!" Eli throws her hand in the air to punctuate her point.

"That isn't true!" Aidou continues to argue with Eli for a few more minutes while the other three stand in the background.

"You guys want to go get some snacks?" Nicky asks, looking up at the two men standing to either side of her.

"Food?" Aidou asks, looking over at the girl and completely ignoring Eli.

"Um, yeah, we were going to go get some snacks. I guess you'll be coming with us," Nicky gives Aidou a halfhearted smile, "I mean, we can't just let you wander around all alone."

Aidou smiles at Nicky, "Yes, thank you! I'm so hungry!" Nicky chuckles nervously as they head back to the food stalls. Having not eaten for a couple of days, Aidou had a large appetite. Luckily for Nicky, Kaname covered the boy's food costs. "American food is so different from what we're used to." Aidou comments as he munches on one of the sandwiches they had gotten for dinner. They had decided to stop off at a local Subway restaurant to get dinner, since the food was a bit healthier.

"Yeah, while you guys are here you'll have to try all kinds of different foods," Nicky gives Aidou a smile. Even if she would have preferred not having the boy there, it was nice to see him being so enthusiastic. For some reason, Nicky had gotten the feeling Aidou didn't like her.

As they head from the restaurant Aidou points at the stuffed bunny, "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, Kaname won it for me," Nicky smiles and hugs the bunny again and Aidou frowns a bit, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy.

Aidou didn't really see what was so special about Nicky. He could understand how Kaname wanting to help her when she had fainted outside the school. Kaname was a kind, good person (at least in Aidou's eyes) and he knew the man couldn't just leave Nicky out in the woods that first night. Since all of the doors seemed to be locked and she was wearing so little, they knew Nicky would have frozen if they left her out there that night, so Aidou had gone along with Kaname when he brought the girl back to the manor they were staying in.

Then, when Kaname had begun talking to Nicky, Aidou could see the man had begun to feel something for the girl. He had tried to convince himself it was just sympathy but either way he decided to keep quiet about it. When he saw her that second time, walking down the hallway and she wasn't as frightened he could see she was a little cute, but he didn't really think she was anything special. Well, not special enough for Kaname at least. Then he heard that Kaname had invited the girl to come back to Cross Academy with them during her winter break. Aidou was understandably shocked.

For Nicky to have made that big of an impression on Kaname seemed kind of crazy and Aidou just couldn't understand why, but as time passed and he saw the two of them interact, it was obvious to him that, for one reason or another, Kaname felt something towards his girl. Aidou just couldn't understand why. She was _human_ after all, but that didn't seem to matter. And then, during the party Kaname kissed Nicky. They all knew it happened. Just the expression on the girl's face when they returned from the kitchen told them all what had happened.

That was when they all realized what had happened. Kaname had fallen for the girl, for _some_ reason. Aidou had made his peace with it, but then they had that fight and Aidou actually felt relieved. He knew it was just a matter of time before they split so it wasn't a bit deal, but then she started talking to Ichijou. It was as if she had insulted Kaname, talking to Ichijou while ignoring Kaname. And, even though they had made up, Aidou just couldn't let it go that she would ignore Kaname for so long, while talking to his friend at the same time.

It was getting dark now and the park had scheduled a light show. As they make their way to the viewing area, Nicky notices Aidou giving her a strange look. "Is something wrong Aidou?" Nicky asks, catching the boy off guard.

"Ah! No, of course not!" Aidou laughs nervously. He had let his thoughts wander and hadn't even realized he had been staring at Nicky. When they reach the viewing area, they all sit down. Eli tries to position herself so that Nicky is sitting next to Ichijou again, but Kaname pulls Nicky into his lap, earning a blush from one girl and a glare from the other. Their attention goes up to the sky as the lights begin.


	21. Amusement Park Fun! (Part 2)

**Chapter 20 – Amusement Park Fun! (Part 2)**

As their first night at the park comes to a close and the group heads back to the hotel, Nicky sits next to Kaname on the shuttle ride back. There were less people on the shuttle this time so they were all able to sit comfortably. Aside from the dirty looks Eli continues to give Nicky's rabbit, the ride back is peaceful. As they reach the hotel, Nicky looks over at Aidou and asks, "What are you going to do about a room?"

"What do you mean?" Aidou asks, blinking in surprise as they walk into the hotel lobby, "I figured I would stay in the same room as Kaname-sama and Ichijou. Why?"

"Well, it's just that the rooms only have two beds. If you stayed in the same room as Kaname and Ichijou someone would have to share a bed," Nicky explains.

Eli snickers, "Unless you want to spoon with Ichijou, I'm guessing you'll have to get your own room."

Aidou looks over at Eli, more than a little disturbed by the girl's comment. After thinking he suggests, "Why don't I stay in your room?" After receiving a stern look from Kaname Aidou quickly adds, "I was just thinking you two could share a bed since your both girls and I could get the extra bed."

The girls think for a moment about the boys suggestion. Even if Nicky didn't really feel completely comfortable with sharing a bed, she didn't think the suggestion was so bad. Eli on the other hand replies flatly, "Sleep in the lobby."

Nicky chuckles nervously, as Eli heads for the elevator with Ichijou following close behind. "Um, we could always get you your own room." Nicky suggests, "It probably won't be anywhere near our rooms, but at least you'll have a place to stay."

Aidou pouts, "But…"

Kaname interrupts the boy, "I think that is our only option, unless you would prefer going back to Cross Academy."

"Ah, no! That sounds like a great idea!" Aidou laughs nervously as Kaname heads over to see about getting him a room. Aidou sighs as he looks down at Nicky who gives him a nervous smile. _Kaname-sama was never this short with me before he met __her__…_

When Kaname walks back over he hands Aidou a card-key. "Your room is on the second floor. You'll have to find some way to entertain yourself while we're at the park."

"But, Miss Kathy got me a pass too, so I could go to the park with you," Aidou says as they head for the elevator. Nicky frowns, hearing that Aidou had gotten her mother to spend so much money on him. She knew her stepfather wouldn't be very happy about this and it would come back to her in the end.

Kaname picks up on Nicky's expression and can guess what she's thinking, "I'll reimburse you mother later."

"Ah, thanks Kaname," Nicky chuckles nervously as Aidou pouts again.

"It's not that big of a deal, is it?" Aidou asks, looking at Kaname instead of Nicky.

Nicky crosses her arms and sighs, her bunny fit snugly against her chest, "You are inconveniencing my mother." Aidou looks away a bit ashamed. Even if he didn't quite care for Nicky, he did like her mother. The woman was nice and seemed to adore him.

"Will it be okay if I apologize later?" Aidou asks as the elevator stops on his floor.

Nicky nods, "Okay, tomorrow we'll be gathering downstairs at around 8:30 so we can eat and catch the shuttle back to the park. Don't be late."

"Alright," Aidou leaves to go to his room, leaving Kaname and Nicky alone on the elevator. Nicky sighs, enjoying the quiet as the elevator heads up.

"I wasn't expecting to see him there," Nicky says, looking up at Kaname, "The park it big, he's lucky he found us."

Kaname nods, remaining quiet. He didn't exactly want Ichijou and Eli there, having Aidou there was just one more inconvenience. He wanted to get closer to Nicky, which was hard with an audience, especially Eli, getting in the way at every turn. When the elevator stops at their floor, Kaname stops Nicky from getting off. Nicky looks up at the man, a bit confused when he suddenly leans down and kisses her. Nicky was initially caught off guard, but quickly responds, kissing the man back.

After fifteen minutes pass, Eli begins to get a bit anxious. "What are they doing?" the girl mutters to herself, crossing her arms and leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "It couldn't take this long just to get rid of Aidou, could it?" _Then again, he _is_ a persistent one._ Eli sighs, getting up off her bed and taking a pair of pajamas into the bathroom. While she is changing, Eli hears the door open and close. Walking out of the bathroom Eli casually asks, "What took you?"

"Uh," still holding onto the stuffed rabbit, Nicky looks over at her friend, a big, dopy smile on her face and a light blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, GAWD," Eli groans when she sees her friend's expression, "I don't want to know!"

Nicky chuckles as she heads into the bathroom to change as well, "Sorry, I didn't realize you'd be waiting."

Eli falls face first onto her bed. It really looked like Kaname was going to be putting up a fight and getting Nicky together with Ichijou wouldn't be nearly as easy as she thought it would. "What am I going to do?" Eli mumbles into her blankets as she looks up. She glares over at the rabbit which Nicky had dropped off on her bed.

As Nicky walks out of the bathroom, she looks over at Eli and chuckles nervously, "You want me to put him away?" Eli gives a short nod and Nicky puts the toy in the small closet in the corner of the room. "Better?" Eli gives another short nod and Nicky laughs. Falling back onto her bed, Nicky sighs happily.

"So, what happened with Aidou?" Eli asks as she sits up.

Nicky looks over, "Kaname got him his own room. He's going to be coming with us to the park."

"How?" Eli asks, "He doesn't have any money, does he?"

"He got my mom to get him a pass," Nicky rolls her eyes.

Eli shakes her head, "Great, now we'll have to deal with him."

Nicky shrugs, "Doesn't really matter now, does it? He's here so, let's just try to make the best of it. Okay?"

Eli shrugs, "Alright. Oh! I'll get to mess with him too!" Eli grins, thinking about all the things she could do to mess with Kaname using Aidou. _Maybe I can get them on the Tunnel of Love ride together!_

Nicky stares at her friend, "You have that look on your face again."

"What are you talking about?" Eli asks, faking innocents, "Anyway, goodnight!" Eli rolls over, pulling the blankets up over her. Nicky sighs at her friend and crawls under her own blankets, shutting off the lights.

During that second day the group begins to go on some of the rides, starting with the less extreme rides. Though, now that he wasn't so worried about finding Kaname, Aidou was able to enjoy the park and wanted to see some of the sights the others had seen the day before. Nicky chuckles at the boy's excitement. He wasn't nearly as childlike as Ichijou was, but it was still cute to see him wandering around.

As the group moves to stand in line for one of the roller coasters, Nicky looks around and spots a familiar face. "Jasmine?" Nicky asks, looking at a girl a couple of people ahead of them. The girl was a little taller than Eli with shoulder length black hair, dark brown eyes hidden behind cobalt blue contacts and cocoa colored skin.

"Nicky? Hey!" the girl moves back to stand near the group, "When did you get back?

"A couple weeks ago, I tried to find you but Megan said you were staying with your brother."

"Yeah, he had an accident and needed someone to help him out while he recovered," Jasmine explains, "So, how are things at the boarding school?"

"Good, actually I'm here with my roommate," Nicky motions back to Eli who steps forward, "This is Eli and these are our friends. This is Ichijou, Aidou and my boyfriend Kaname." Nicky motions to each boy as she names him. Jasmine's eye widen a bit when Nicky names Kaname as her boyfriend.

"Your…? Good for you!" Jasmine smiles, "You finally found yourself a guy!"

Nicky chuckles and Eli snorts, crossing her arms. Jasmine raises an eyebrow and Kaname explains, "Eli doesn't like me. She would rather see Nicky with Ichijou."

"Oh, I see," Jasmine glances between Kaname and Ichijou, "Why doesn't she like you?" Eli mumbles something to herself in Spanish and Nicky chuckles nervously.

"Various reasons," Kaname says simply.

"Ah… Well, if Nicky likes you, that must mean you're a nice guy," Jasmine gives Kaname a smile as the line moves forward. "Your names don't really sound English, where are you guys from?"

"Japan, actually," Ichijou speaks up, moving closer to the girls.

"Then how did you all meet? Didn't your parents ship you off to England?" Jasmine asks, looking at Nicky.

Nicky laughs nervously, "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"We have plenty time," Jasmine says, motioning to a sign saying "Wait from here: 30 minutes."

Nicky sighs, "Well, when I first arrived at the school I was rooming with another girl and I became friends with her and her group. After I was there for a week, they wanted me to do this 'initiation' thing where I had to go from the school dorms to the front gate, touch it and then come back. It was really late and pitch black out and you know how I am with the dark."

Jasmine nods, "Yeah, but there weren't any lights at all? And exactly how far was the gate from the dorm?"

"It was about 200 meters and there weren't any lights aside from a dim one right outside the door to the dorm," Nicky explains. She goes on to explain what happened next. How Chrissie and her friends had locked her out of the dorm, then the gate, including how Leslie had told her she shouldn't have come to England and everything. "And I guess I must have been so frightened I passed out because the next thing I knew I was waking up in the manor Kaname's friend owns."

"Wow what a little…" Jasmine trails off, "What happened to them? I mean, the school must have punished them, right?"

"Yeah, Chrissie and Leslie were suspended. The others didn't really know what they were planning so they were excused," Nicky explains.

"What a way to meet a guy," Jasmine sighs looking at the men in the group, "What happened after that?" It takes the remainder of the wait in line to fill Jasmine in on everything else that had happened, leaving out the vampire part and the fight during Christmas. As they get close to the front of the line Jasmine whistles, "Wow… that's a really amazing story. You know, you're pretty lucky. You managed to snag a _really_ cute boyfriend!" Jasmine grins at Nicky and the girl blushes. Kaname on the other hand wasn't really sure _how_ to respond to the compliment.

After the ride, Jasmine and Nicky exchange cell phone numbers and Jasmine heads off to rejoin her group as Nicky and the others head off to find another ride. As they walk Aidou looks over at Nicky, "So, your friend seemed nice."

"Yeah, it's too bad her _girlfriend_ Tasha is such a pain," Nicky says, shrugging.

"Ah…" Aidou looks away, "Hint taken." Eli snickers a bit at the boy's disappointed look as they get in line for the next ride. By the time they stop for dinner the group has gone on a number of rides. They had decided earlier that morning to take turns letting each of them pick where they would eat. It was Eli's turn to pick and the girl decides on Mexican. The males were a bit on the fence about the food as they look at the menu.

"I know it looks odd, but it's actually good," Nicky assures the men as she orders nachos for the table. "Just make sure to stay away from anything with a lot of spice. If you're not used to it, it'll really upset your stomachs."

"Yeah, and then you'll be in the bathroom all night," Eli says with a grin as she digs into the nachos.

Something told Nicky that was exactly what Eli had intended, at least for Aidou and Kaname. "How about I order for you guys?" Nicky suggests, "I'll make sure you don't get anything that'll be bad for you." Kaname and Ichijou agree but Aidou rolls his eyes.

"How bad can it really be?" Aidou says, looking over the menu.

"Uh, you really should be careful about what you order. You're not used to Hispanic foods," Nicky suggests.

"Don't worry about me," Aidou waves his hand to dismiss Nicky's worry, "I'll be fine. Wasabi is hot and I love eating that, this food should be just fine." As the waitress walks over Aidou orders a spicy platter while Nicky orders the other two and herself more mild dishes.

As the woman walks away Nicky looks over at Aidou, "You're going to regret that later." Aidou rolls his eyes and Nicky sighs, "Well, at least you've got a room to yourself."

Half an hour after the group leaves the restaurant, Aidou begins to feel ill with stomach cramps. He excuses himself and heads back to the hotel early and Eli laughs, "Well, you tried to warm him."

Nicky sighs, "Yeah, but let's just stay away from Mexican food from now on, okay?"

Eli laughs again, "Alright, I got what I wanted anyway."

"Something told me you were planning something like this," Kaname says with a sigh. Nicky chuckles nervously and changes the subject.

The group goes on another few rides before heading back to the hotel themselves. This time Eli made sure to stick close to Nicky. She knew Kaname wouldn't do anything in front of her and she wasn't ready to give him the satisfaction of being alone with Nicky again. Instead she makes sure Nicky goes directly to the room once they get off the elevator.

Nicky and Eli take turns showering before getting ready for bed. "So, how bad to you think Aidou is feeling right now?" Eli asks with a grin as she relaxes on her bed.

Nicky sighs, "You are getting _way_ too much enjoyment out of his misery."

"Hey, he had it coming!" Eli protests, "You tried to warn him but he was still all 'Oh, look at me I am the awesome Aidou! I don't need advice on what kinds of foods to eat.'"

Nicky frowns, "He doesn't sound _anything_ like that."

Eli shrugs, "He does in my head. Anyway, you want to go to the water park tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Nicky smiles. She had let the boys know about the water half of the park so they would know to bring swim trunks. "Do you think Aidou will be well enough to come?"

"Hopefully not," Eli lays back on her bed while Nicky lays down on her own.

"I wonder if he even has a pair of trunks," Nicky thinks out loud.

Eli snickers, "What if he doesn't? He won't be able to go to the water park in jeans."

"Yeah," Nicky looks over at Eli who continues to snicker, "What's so funny?"

"What if he went in his underwear?" Eli asks, picturing Aidou in a pair of white briefs, "You think he wears boxers, or briefs?"

Nicky cringes, "What if he goes 'Commando?'"

Eli goes quiet for a moment, shuttering, "Ew, what'd you have to say that? Now I can't get the image of Aidou's pale white butt out of my head. Oh, gawd, make it stop!" Eli buries her head in her pillows and Nicky chuckles a bit.

"Good night, Eli," Nicky rolls over and turns off the light.

The next morning when the group meets up for breakfast, Nicky tells the boys about their plans to go to the water park. Aidou was feeling well enough, though he was still a little upset about spending half of his night in pain, running back and forth to the bathroom. At the mention of the water park Aidou speaks up, "I don't have a swim suit."

"Then don't come. I'm sure you can find other things to do," Eli suggests.

"Or," Ichijou points out, "we could get Aidou a pair of trunks from the gift shop."

Eli sighs, but doesn't argue as they get the boy's swimwear. After eating, the girls give the men a few minutes to change into their swimsuits before leaving for the shuttle. On the way to the amusement park, Aidou looks over at the girls and asks, "Does this mean you two are going to be wearing swim suits as well?"

"Yes, we have them on under out clothes," Nicky says, "there is a place we can store our clothes at the park."

"Oh, I see," Aidou glances around, "So, does this mean we'll see a lot of girls in bathing suits?"

Eli sighs, "Yeah, as well as guys and fat people and old people and little kids. It's a _water park_." Eli says the last two words slowly.

"I was just asking," Aidou frowns, not appreciating Eli's sarcasm.


	22. Amusement Park Fun! (Part 3)

[Author's Note: Well, here is the final part of the amusement park arc. Next chapter will be kind of a filler, just showing what the other characters are up to. I was thinking about making you guys wait for this one, writing the filler first but my lovely sister talked me out of it. So instead, please enjoy our little conclusion. I hope you enjoy!]

**Chapter 21 – Amusement Park Fun! (Part 3)**

After they reach the park, Nicky looks at the map to see where the entrance to the water half of the park is. It was kind of far away, but luckily there was a small train that circled around the park, going from the half they were in over to the water half. Nicky guides the group over to the train and within five minutes they were in the water half of the park. "The lockers are over there," Nicky says, pointing, "Would you guys mind waiting for us here while Eli and I go change?" There were no objections from the males of the group as the two girls head over to the changing rooms.

Eli didn't quite like the idea of her and Nicky being seen in bathing suits, especially by Aidou, but she figured they would be fine as long as they wore modest suits. She had brought a black one piece suit for Nicky, but Eli hadn't seen which suite Nicky had left the room in that morning. Eli herself wore a long tank-top styled two piece bathing suit with a pair of men's swim trunks. Since she really only had to remove her shirt, Eli was finished before Nicky and decides to wait outside the changing rooms for her friend.

As Nicky walks out to meet her friend, Eli frowns. The smaller girl was wearing fitted a two piece bikini. It was a light blue with white flower patterns and a small bit of frill that fastened with ties in the back. "What happened to the suit I bought for you?" Eli asks, raising an eyebrow.

Nicky shifts a bit as she places her clothes in the locker they had gotten to store their things in, "Well, I just thought this one looked cuter. Besides, black isn't really my color."

Eli sighs, not pleased by her friend's choice in swimwear. She was very aware of the fact that there were men there with them. "Aren't you worried about sun exposure or getting burned?" Eli asks, "Maybe you should keep your shirt on."

Nicky sighs, "Eli, I'll be fine, _really_. Besides, we all put sunscreen on before coming, remember?"

As Nicky turns and begins heading back towards the men Eli continues, "What if it washes off? We'll be getting wet you know."

"That's why I bought waterproof sunscreen," Nicky points out.

Eli decides to play the "boyfriend card" and says, "I'm sure _Kaname_ wouldn't want you walking around like that," Eli sounds almost like she is in pain when she says Kaname's name, "I don't think he would like a bunch of guys looking at you in that."

Nicky stops and looks up at Eli with a slightly worried expression, "Do you really think it will bother him that much? I mean, I'm sure as long as we're with the boys no one will stare too much but… I don't want to upset Kaname. I got this suit because it looked cute and I thought he might like it…"

Eli does her best to hold back her relief. Even if it did cause her pain to think that Kaname was actually good for something, at least she was going to be able to get Nicky to change. As they talk, the three males walk over Nicky looks at Kaname. Like always, the man kept a calm expression but he was just about as pleased as Eli by the swim suit. Though he did think it was cute, Kaname did _not_ want anyone else looking at Nicky while she was wearing something so revealing.

"That color looks really cute on you Nicky," Ichijou says, drawing the attention of both Eli and Kaname, "It really brings out the blue in your eyes."

"Um, thank you Ichijou," Nicky smiles at the man, blushing slightly at the compliment. She was beginning to rethink wearing the suit.

"Well, let's go!" Ichijou says excited, "I want to go on that ride first!" Ichijou points over to a high waterslide.

"Ah, h-hold on Ichi," Eli starts as Ichijou begins to push the girls towards the waterslide. Kaname sighs slightly but follows close behind the girls, making sure to stay close to Nicky. Even if her swimsuit bothered him, he didn't want to upset Nicky by commenting on it. He had heard that girls can be a bit sensitive when it comes to their clothing, especially American women (though he tried not to go by stereotypes) so he deices not to voice his concerns. Instead, as they walk, whenever Kaname notices a male looking over at Nicky he moves to block their view, trying not to be obvious about it. Though, it seemed just his presence was enough to keep most men from staring for too long.

The lines for the water rides were moving quickly. It seemed there were less people there that day, perhaps because it was the middle of the week and most people were at work. Either way, the group was able to move to the front of the line quickly. The slide was high with a lot of twists and turns with a large pool at the bottom. One by one each member of the group went down the slide, meeting up in a group again at the bottom.

"What ride should we go on next?" Ichijou asks, a large smile on his face as they move to get out of the pool.

"How about…" Eli looks around. It seemed most of the rides that were close to them were different variations of water slides with a few fountains and water jets set out between them.

"How about we go on that ride?" Nicky asks, pointing over to a larger slide. On this ride the patrons went down in tubes shaped like 8, allowing for two people to go down at once. It looked like a fun ride so the group heads over. Again the line moves quickly and the group only has to wait for a little while before reaching the front.

A woman in a bright orange one piece swimsuit smiles at the group. "Alright, who is riding with who?" the woman asks as she moves one of the inner tubes to the launch point. Kaname and Nicky end up going down first, followed by Eli and Ichijou and finally Aidou and a teenage girl who was waiting behind him, much to Aidou's pleasure.

As they move from one ride to another, the group moves farther into the water park. Eventually they find the wave ride where people can water board and try to surf. There were also a few smaller rides and even a large structure where kids can climb on it and shoot water guns at one another. Eventually they move in line for another water slide. This one was the highest of the rides with a large funnel looking structure at the top with up to four people being able to go down at once.

As they get close to the front of the line Aidou speaks up, "Hey, this time can I go down with _someone_? Not that I mind sharing a seat with a pretty girl," Aidou winks at a girl standing behind him, earning a few giggles, "but I feel like you guys are trying to ignore me." Aidou looks over at Eli when he says this, meaning her.

"That's because you're annoying," Eli says, rolling her eyes, "Besides, _you_ weren't even supposed to be here with us."

Aidou frowns and opens his mouth to continue arguing but Kaname quiets him, "Only four people are able to fit and there are five of us. Since you don't mind riding with strangers that seems to be the best option."

"Y-yes, Kaname-sama," Aidou mumbles as they reach the end of the line.

Eli smirks, seeing an opening. She moves quickly, pretending to slip on some of the water. Moving her arms out in front of her, Eli tries to shove Ichijou into Nicky but she hadn't realized how slick Ichijou's back was due to the water covering all of them. Instead of shoving Ichijou into Nicky like she had planned, Eli ends up slipping, her hands sliding from Ichijou's back and landing on Nicky's chest. Both of the girls tumble to the ground and the man who had been working the ride comes closer to see if either girl is hurt.

Before anyone can help the girls up Eli shoots to her feet. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to grab those!" Eli cries out, panicking slightly as Nicky slowly sits up, face a bright red.

Kaname takes Nicky's arm and helps her to her feet, "Are you all right?"

"Uh, yeah," Nicky rubs the back of her head, clearly embarrassed while Aidou begins to laugh.

"What about you, Eli?" Ichijou asks, looking at the taller girl who looked clearly disturbed.

"F-fine," Eli glares over at Aidou as he continues to laugh.

"That is enough, Aidou," Kaname says, giving the man a cold look and he immediately stops laughing. When they realize they are holding up the line, the group moves on. The ride was fun, but both girls were too embarrassed over the incident to really enjoy it. At the bottom of the ride, Ichijou suggests they move on to get lunch and the rest of the group eagerly agrees.

The group heads over to a small bistro where they order various hot sandwiches with soups and salad. When they sit down to eat Nicky looks over at Aidou, noticing something. "Hey, Aidou?" Nicky asks, looking at the boy's reddening shoulders, "What kind of sunscreen did you use this morning?"

"Sunscreen?" Aidou looks over at Nicky, blinking.

Nicky stares at the boy as Eli starts to snicker, "Yes, we all put on sunscreen before we came. Did you use any this morning?" Aidou groans when he realizes his mistake and Eli starts laughing hysterically.

For rest of the day, neither girl can look the other in the eye as they go on more rides. By the end of the day Nicky was getting cold and was happy to finally head back to the hotel. She and Eli head directly to the room where Nicky gets into the shower first. A few minutes after the water begins, there is a knock on the door. When Eli answers it, she smiles, seeing Ichijou.

"Hey Ichi, come on in," Eli moves to the side to let the boy into the room.

Ichijou smiles and walks in, "I just wanted to make sure you were really okay. You seemed…"

Eli groans, "Ugh, I got farther with Nicky than Kaname. There's just something… wrong about that."

Ichijou chuckles nervously, "Yeah, I don't think Kaname was very happy about that either. That's why I'm over here right now. I think he just needs a few moments to himself."

"Yeah, he needs time alone. But not because he's angry," Eli wriggles her eyebrows suggestively and Ichijou sighs, not finding the girl's insinuation very funny. "Oh, come on, I'm hilarious!" Eli pouts, crossing her arms.

"Anyway," Ichijou decides to change the subject, "how is Nicky?"

"She's fine, I think I was more disturbed by the whole thing," Eli sighs.

Ichijou smiles, "Well, as long as you're both okay. Let Nicky know I stopped by, I'm going to go check on Aidou. His sun burn was looking kind of bad."

"Alright," Eli sees Ichijou to the door then sits to wait for her tern in the shower.

The next morning Aidou's shoulders and back were red and raw. He barely wanted to go down to the dining room where the other four were having breakfast. "If you're in pain, maybe you should stay here today," Nicky suggests, "Since we're going to go back to riding the normal rides it might be too painful for you." While Nicky felt bad for the boy, Eli found his discomfort hilarious. As Aidou grumbles to himself, Eli reaches over and pokes him on the back of the neck.

"Ow!" Aidou flinches away, 'Don't do that! You should understand how badly this hurts!"

Eli snickers, "I do, and that's why it's so funny!"

Nicky sighs at her friend's childish behavior. Reaching into her bag she pulls out a bottle of lotion. She holds it out to Aidou who looks skeptical, "Here, it's for sunburns. It should help you feel better. I kind of figured we might need it," Nicky gives Aidou a smile and he reluctantly takes the bottle, mumbling a 'thank you.'

As Eli pokes him again Aidou flinches, "Yeah, I think I'll stay behind today. If I go I know Eli will keep poking me."

"Even if you stay I'll still poke you," Eli adds in, "I'll just have to wait until we get back to have my fun." Aidou narrows his eyes at Eli who gives him a grin back.

The rest of their stay at the hotel and amusement park was mostly without incident. The lotion Nicky gave Aidou helped ease his pain and he was able to rejoin the group at the park, though Eli's constant pokes caused him enough pain to amuse her. There was one other incident at the park. There was one ride Nicky wanted to go on, but was too embarrassed to ask. Eli on the other hand was hardly shy about it. During their last day at the park Eli ended up dragging the group over to the Tunnel-of-Love.

Nicky really wanted to go on the ride with Kaname, but somehow Eli had managed to get her on with Ichijou. Though, Eli ended up forced onto the ride with Kaname. Half way through the ride, Kaname turns to Eli and asks, "Satisfied?"

To this Eli simply glared up at Kaname and replied, "Worth it." Because the ride was for couples, Aidou was forced to sit out while the others rode the ride.

Afterwards the group went back to the hotel to pack. Since Kathy said she'd be there to pick them up around 8, they had to leave early. Even though Nicky wanted to see the light show one last time, she wanted to make sure they were packed before her mother arrived. She knew Jason would throw a fit if she made her mother wait. By the time they were all packed they still had half an hour before Kathy would be there. To make sure they checked out together, the group decides to meet in Kaname and Ichijou's room.

While waiting, Nicky suggests, "Why don't we get something to eat while we wait?"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Eli says, moving towards the door, "Should we bring our bags with us?"

"We can order room service," Ichijou suggests and the others agree.

"How about we order some Mexican food?" Eli asks, looking at the menu for the room service.

Aidou cringes, "No! No Mexican!"

"I agree with Aidou, how about pizza?" Nicky suggests.

Eli sighs, but agree, "I guess we wouldn't really want to share a 90 minute car ride with Aidou if we had Mexican anyway." They end up ordering pizza and ice cream from room service, finishing it right as Kathy calls to let them know she was getting close.

"We should go check out now," Nicky says, standing and leading the way to the elevator.

"We should do this again," Ichijou says as they ride the elevator down to the lobby.

Aidou cringes a bit, "Uh, I think I'd rather stay home."

"Good, we didn't want you here anyway," Eli huffs as they head over to check out.

"Why are you so rude?" Aidou asks, crossing his arms and looking at Eli, "You are always doing that, insulting me and saying mean things. What is your problem with me?"

Eli stares back at the boy, "Oh, I don't like you for a lot of reasons. We don't really have time for that right now and I don't want to say anything in front of Nicky's mom. She actually likes me."

"And that's surprising?" Ichijou asks, looking at Eli who nods.

"Most parents hate me, so I'd like to keep Nicky's mom from getting mad at me for as long as possible," Eli explains. It took only a moment for them to pay their bill and head out to the front of the hotel. It only took Kathy a few more minutes to arrive. Since there was a larger group coming back then there was arriving, Kathy had to barrow a van from one of the neighbors.

As the group piles into the vehicle Aidou sits in the front passenger seat next to Kathy. Looking over at the woman he asks, "What happened to your other car?"

Kathy laughs a little as she starts back for home, "Well, my car can only handle four passengers and there are five of you, so I borrowed this van from our neighbor. Anyway, how was your week? Did you all have fun?"

"Yes," Nicky answers. She was seated in the middle row, next to Kaname, "We went on a bunch of rides and by the middle of the week there was barely anyone there so we hardly had to wait."

"That's nice, what about the rest of you?" Kathy asks, looking in the rear view mirror at the rest of the passengers.

"Well, when we went to the water park I forgot to put on sunscreen and got sunburn," Aidou adds in.

"That's too bad, how is it now?" Kathy asks.

"Better. Nicky gave me some lotion and it helped but Eli kept poking my sunburn," Aidou complains a little, earning a glare from Eli.

Eli huffs a little, "Wow Aidou, tattling to _mommy_."

"You wouldn't stop," Aidou says, getting a little defensive.

Kathy laughs, "In Eli's defense, when one of your friends gets sunburn you _have_ to touch it. It's one of the unwritten rules. I can't tell you how many times that happened to me when I was your age!"

Aidou goes quiet and Eli starts laughing, "Wow Nicky! I _really_ like your mom!" Nicky laughs as well and smiles over at her mom. The woman really did have her moments.


	23. Summer Filler Yuki

[Author's Note: I know I said I would try to get the new chapter up by Wednesday, but I am experiencing major difficulties with my computer and I don't know when I'll be able to get another chapter posted. I'm really sorry about making you guys wait like this!]

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22 – Summer Filler {Yuki}<br>**

*On an Island somewhere*

Yuki sits on a beach blanket shaded by a large umbrella. Zero was off somewhere, hiding from the sun and Cross was happily building a sandcastle. The sun was bright and the wind was warm. The ocean was softly lapping at the beach. It was a beautiful day but Yuki just couldn't enjoy it. Ever since she was little, she and Kaname had been close, but since the Christmas party that Kaname threw, there has been a distance between them that Yuki just couldn't get past and it was deeply troubling for her.

When Yuki had been called to Cross's office she had not been surprised to see Eli there. Eli was a frequent visitor to Cross Academy, often coming to the school whenever she was on break at her own (and sometimes when just skipping classes for a few days), but when Yuki saw the girl Eli was with, she had been understandably surprised. Yuki had no idea Kaname had made a new friend during his visit to England until she was face to face with the blond girl.

Zero was surprised too, he had said as much later that night when they went patrolling. Well, he was more angry then surprised but that was beside the point. Yuki knew deep down that she herself was special to Kaname. She was the only human to have gotten close to Kaname. That is, until that winter. And if she was being completely honest with herself, Yuki did feel a slight twinge of jealously. But from the looks of it, this girl seemed to be a friend of Eli's as well, so it lessened the blow.

At first, Yuki thought Kaname had invited the girl there to try and keep Eli from causing trouble for the vampires. She was always running around, getting into _everything_ and harassing people, so Yuki simply assumed that since the girl was human Eli would have behaved herself. It wasn't until later, while talking to Cross, that Yuki learned that Nicky already knew about vampires and that she had been filled in on everything already.

At the time Yuki had told herself that since they had known one another for such a short time that Kaname couldn't have gotten close to the girl. Yuki had gone to Cross and asked about Nicky, just to be sure and he had simply told her that Nicky had been attacked by Aidou outside her school and that they had no choice but to bring her back to the manor where Kaname was staying. Apparently she had been locked outside her school and probably would have died if they hadn't helped her.

Yuki could understand Kaname helping Nicky. After all he had saved her when she was a small child under very similar circumstances. But since she had known Kaname for much longer, Yuki felt that she had an advantage over Nicky. She and Kaname had history and that just couldn't be erased in one night, right? But then she found out that it wasn't just one night. Nicky had been with Kaname, spending a _lot_ of time alone with him for three days _and_ he had invited her to Cross Academy _before_ he found out she knew Eli.

Yuki had been a little hurt by this knowledge. Though she tried to deny it, something told her that Nicky had become an important person to Kaname and Yuki just couldn't stand knowing that she wasn't the only one anymore. Yuki tried her best not to hold all of this against Nicky. After all it wasn't her fault. Not to mention there was still the fact that she went to a different school, in a different country. Yuki was sure Nicky and Kaname couldn't be as close as she and Kaname.

When the party finally arrived Yuki was actually a little excited. To be able to see Kaname outside of school, in such a relaxed situation was going to be such a great time. And it was. Even though the party guests talking in English half of the time, Yuki still had fun. She had noticed when Eli hung up the mistletoe and had kind of hoped to get caught under it with Kaname, but Yuki just couldn't bring herself to try. Kissing him in such a situation would have been far too embarrassing.

Then Nicky and Ichijou went to get more punch and Eli pointed out the mistletoe hung in the door way. It was kind of funny to see Eli shoving the vampire into Nicky. Yuki was sure poor Ichijou was embarrassed, but the kiss dragged on for a bit and Yuki felt a little hope. She couldn't help wondering if, somehow, Nicky was actually there for Ichijou. Yuki felt a little bad when Ichijou ran out embarrassed. His face had been so red and Yuki was sure Nicky was just as embarrassed. She hadn't even noticed Kaname walk into the kitchen after Nicky.

When the girl didn't come right back Yuki took it upon herself to go check on the girl. There was the issue with communication, but Yuki thought she might be able to do _something_ to comfort Nicky. After heading down the hallway to the kitchen, Yuki had pushed the door open just slightly to try and gage Nicky's emotions. What Yuki saw had caused her chest to tighten so much it had actually brought tears to her eyes.

Seeing Kaname standing in the kitchen _kissing_ Nicky was more then she could bare. Yuki quickly left the party, telling the other she had a headache and heading back to her dorm. Yuki had done everything she could to convince herself that there wasn't anything going on between Kaname and Nicky, trying to see every possible explanation for why she was there aside from the truth. But seeing Kaname there with Nicky had made the truth painfully obvious.

After Nicky left to go back to her school, Yuki had tried to speak with Kaname, but she could something was wrong. It was almost like he could look at her. For some reason or another, it was almost like he was _avoiding_ her. That hurt almost as much as seeing him kissing Nicky. Now, Yuki liked to think of herself as a nice girl, but she couldn't help disliking Nicky after everything that had happened. It was almost like Nicky had stolen Kaname from her and Yuki just couldn't forgive her for that, at least not anytime soon.

In the most recent months following spring Kaname has begun speaking to Yuki more and it seemed like everything is going back to normal, but Yuki can still feel that distance there. Kaname hasn't come to visit her the way he used too and Yuki has begun to feel a little neglected. She cared for him so much and it felt like he was pulling away from her. At first, Cross could see there was something bothering Yuki and he had done everything he could to cheer her up.

Yuki was grateful for her father's attention and has done her best not to mope around Cross, but as she sits there on the beach with so much free time, Yuki can't help thinking about everything that has been going on since winter. After a while Yuki hears her name being called. Looking over at Cross, Yuki smiles and waves. "Why don't you come over and help?" Cross calls out, waving Yuki over.

"I don't think so," Yuki replies, "I just want to relax for a while."

"Alright," Cross brushes the sand from his hands and walks over to where Yuki is sitting, "How about we get Zero-kun and head to get something to eat?"


End file.
